[martyvis]

Clearly you don't understand Elon's Starlink. If they did nothing from today literally every satellite will re-enter and burn up of it's own accord within 5 years - not generations. They have to actively boost it keep it in orbit and counter the drag for the atmosphere. ( Which is quite different from most other satellites out there)

[teamonkey]

"Potential Ozone Depletion From Satellite Demise During Atmospheric Reentry in the Era of Mega-Constellations"

https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2024GL10...

[whiteboardr]

I know.

What I’m saying is that this is here to stay and once fuel for keeping them in orbit is depleted they’ll be replaced - hence that whole mesh won’t go away.

[scrumper]

I agree with you in terms of how it feels. I haven't yet made up my mind about the balance of benefits and drawbacks. When I get cross about them I try to remember that I've never really minded airplanes crossing my path when stargazing and they're a lot brighter and more distracting. And I think I'd like to keep my righteous anger powder dry for when some gigantic asshole tries to show adverts in the night sky.

It requires active investment to maintain the contsellation, so at least the null case is that they'll all burn up within a few years if SpaceX fails. (And that's something that I think even many fervent Elon-haters don't particularly want to see: given the choice between betting the next 50 years of access to space on Starliner or Falcon and Starship, I know which I'd pick.)