4 ms·
Why don't I see more discussion about ablation cascade, aka Kessler syndrome? That seems like a serious concern.
by kfrzcode 7y ago
Why don't I see more discussion about ablation cascade, aka Kessler syndrome? That seems like a serious concern.
- wtallis 7y agoThey're low enough that junk simply can't stay aloft very long—one to five years is what they predict for a Starlink satellite with failed thrusters.
- saagarjha 7y agoThey should fix their orbits shortly.
- honestoHeminway 7y agoThere should be a seperat "increase atmosphere drag foil sail" in every satellite so that with a sended code, it can deorbit itself faster.
- foxyv 7y agoEvery launch has to account for de-orbiting and debris avoidance. In this case, satellites will be intentionally de-orbited when their Krypton fuel gets low and they can no longer station keep. The Starlink site has a quick blurb about it: "Starlink is on the leading edge of on-orbit debris mitigation, meeting or exceeding all regulatory and industry standards." "At end of life, the satellites will utilize their on-board propulsion system to deorbit over the course of a few months. In the unlikely event the propulsion system becomes inoperable, the satellites will burn up in Earth’s atmosphere within 1-5 years, significantly less than the hundreds or thousands of years required at higher altitudes."
- kfrzcode 7y agoI cannot imagine how complex it would be to simultaneously track each significant piece of space trash. After doing some Googlin', I found this cool interactive map https://satellites.wearejust.com/ https://satellites.wearejust.com/ There are others too. Crazy engineering!