Then consider that orbital height expands the "surface area" of this satellite spread by an enormous amount....the surface area of a sphere at LEO is substantia

Then consider that orbital height expands the "surface area" of this satellite spread by an enormous amount....the surface area of a sphere at LEO is substantially larger than the surface area of the earth. I don't know the exact numbers, but I know it's a huge difference. Surface area grows with the radius squared. Starlink are meant to be at (a max of) 1200km above the surface. Earth radius is 6371. ((6371 + 1200) / 6371)^2 = 1.41 There is 41% more surface area at their orbit than at sea level.