On October 19, a Falcon 9 rocket launched from Vandenberg SFB, delivering Starlink’s 10,000th satellite tv for pc into orbit. In truth, it delivered many satellites, bringing the SpaceX web service’s whole quantity as much as 10,006. For reference, although it is laborious to pin down precise numbers, the European Area Company believes there are about 12,500 energetic satellites in orbit proper now, whole.
Simply to be clear, that does not imply there are literally 10,000 little Starlink orbiters in area proper now, as Ars Technica notes. As soon as they attain their retirement age, which solely takes just a few years, they’re usually de-orbited, which means they ultimately fall again into the ambiance. Hopefully, they simply expend utterly, as designed. Nonetheless, every re-entering satellite tv for pc runs the chance of getting one piece stay intact and crash again to Earth, an issue that is solely getting worse as satellites develop into an increasing number of quite a few. Accounting for the retired ones, astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell estimates that there are 8,704 Starlink satellites in orbit proper now, 8,688 of that are nonetheless functioning.
Filling the void
That is nonetheless an enormous variety of orbiters all coming from one single service; the Starlink constellation now accounts for two-thirds of all working satellites. SpaceX’s speedy drive to construct out a proliferated constellation is filling up low-Earth orbit in a method that is by no means occurred earlier than. On the one hand, this has allowed for distant entry to the web that’s unprecedented, serving to everybody from sailors on Coast Guard ships to troopers within the Ukraine Battle (when SpaceX CEO Elon Musk permits it).
However, this many satellites in orbit makes the chance of collision very excessive. The U.S. Area Pressure at the moment retains a watch on almost 47,000 objects in area, from functioning and useless satellites to tiny items of particles. Starlink already does tens of hundreds of maneuvers yearly to keep away from crashing into something. However SpaceX desires tens of hundreds extra satellites within the close to future.
In the meantime, different operators need to begin creating their very own satellites, from startups to large companies to different nations. At this charge, area goes to get very full certainly. Any collision is a danger to all different satellites in orbit (due to the ensuing particles area), and likewise to us right here on the bottom which may get struck by a stray piece. So it’s certainly spectacular that SpaceX has single-handedly modified the character of humanity’s presence in orbit, as this 10,000th satellite tv for pc makes clear. What that change brings stays to be seen.
