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by gioscarab
2001 days ago
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I also see the deployment of those massive fleets of satellites in LEO to be suicidal. It makes access to space more complex and expensive. If for some reason few collide they could start a chain reaction that could destroy most LEO satellites now operational and preclude access to space https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kessler_syndrome >Aggressive space activities without adequate safeguards could significantly shorten the time between collisions and produce an intolerable hazard to future spacecraft. Some of the most environmentally dangerous activities in space include large constellations such as those initially proposed by the Strategic Defense Initiative in the mid-1980s, large structures such as those considered in the late-1970s for building solar power stations in Earth orbit, and anti-satellite warfare using systems tested by the USSR, the US, and China over the past 30 years. Such aggressive activities could set up a situation where a single satellite failure could lead to cascading failures of many satellites in a period much shorter than years. |
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Incorrectly, fortunately. First, remember space is big. At hundreds of km up, even tens of thousands of satellites are by definition spread across a greater "surface" area than the entirety of the Earth. There will be fewer of them then there are aircraft flying through the skies.
Second, you might find it reassuring to look up orbital drag. The atmosphere doesn't simply stop at some set point, but rather gradually thins to irrelevance (or arguably to the bow shock of the solar wind). But anything below 600-700km or so requires regular reboosts or else it will experience decay (eventually exponential) and burn up/crash (depending on construction and design). SpaceX is leveraging its launch capabilities to have lower satellites which don't last as long, but offer superior performance, eliminates many of the space trash concerns, and doesn't lock them into design decisions nearly as much.
I mean, is this really such a surprise? SpaceX of ALL players clearly has enormous vested interest in making sure space access remains straight forward. Like, that's their entire foundation of business. If LEO really was closed off, no more SpaceX.