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Thats becoming one massive constellation https://space-search.io/?search=starlink https://space-search.io/?search=starlink

• krick 6y ago
  Is it even possible to take them down without scattering debris all over the orbit later on? Also, is orbit considered to be a free real estate? Does the first one to call dibs just take it or what? It's sure slowly getting a bit crowded over there.
  • baq 6y ago
    orbit is so low it decays in a few years max. the lowest orbits may decay under a year.
  • erwinh 6y ago
    yeah as @baq said these orbits are so low they fall down to earth without active acceleration. Of course at the current time that means these orbits are 'taken'. I'm not sure exactly how those regulations work although each launch does require approval from the nation where the launch takes place I assume.
  • jccooper 6y ago
    They already deorbit Starlink sats regularly. The "prototype" birds from the first launch are being decommissioned. SpaceX could hit a button (well, run a script, probably) and Starlink would disappear within 2-4 weeks. Earth orbit is kinda first-come, first-served, though there is some coordination for GEO and large constellations via FCC and the ITU. It's really not particularly crowded. Starlink in particular basically occupies only one orbital shell at the moment, and not a particularly popular one, though it'll eventually have three or so.
    • moralestapia 6y ago
      >SpaceX could hit a button (well, run a script, probably) and Starlink would disappear within 2-4 weeks. Make me wonder what kind of security is in place to prevent a bad actor from doing that. Is there some 'field' of CS that deals with this? I would love to read about it.