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by FlyingSideKick 2773 days ago
While this is fantastic news on one hand, it is concerning that cheap launches will lead to so much debris in low earth orbit that future generations will find it difficult to orbit without significant risk of micrometeorite strikes.
2 comments

Rocket Lab is being pretty good about this. Their rocket designs are super low waste compared with older ones. It's one of Peter Beck's pet issues.
Things placed in low earth orbit (where small launchers can put satellites) will de-orbit and burn up in 2-5 years from drag if they have no way to maintain their altitude. This isn't a problem future generations have to worry about. Geostationary orbit is a place where stuff can stay for thousands of years, so space junk build up could be a problem out there.