this post was submitted on 05 Oct 2025
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Removing these 50 objects from orbit would cut danger from space junk in half - Ars Technica (arstechnica.com)
submitted 1 week ago by otters_raft@lemmy.ca to c/space@mander.xyz
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[–] burble@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 6 days ago

I understand Kessler Syndrome and am not saying that it isn't possible. I just think Starlink is the wrong constellation to be mad about. There are two points I'm trying to make here about Starlink:

  1. Their orbit is low, so it doesn't matter as much if their birds die because they passively deorbit.
  2. SpaceX has been a good steward of their orbits and don't have much dead junk up there.

The low orbit point is also made in that Wikipedia page that you linked:

Starlink satellites are launched at a lower altitude of 550 km ... and failed satellites or debris are thus expected to deorbit within five years even without propulsion, due to atmospheric drag.

I added the source to my comment above about the deorbit/junk stats.