As Musk seeks to launch tens of thousands of Starlink satellites, space researchers urge caution

[+thexfile Subscriber²]

Over 100 space researchers signed a letter urging the federal government to perform an environmental review before allowing SpaceX to continue launching thousands of satellites for its internet service, Starlink.

The Federal Communications Commission has licensed Elon Musk's company to launch nearly 12,000 satellites into space—more than double the number of non-SpaceX satellites orbiting Earth. SpaceX is asking the FCC to allow it to launch over 20,000 more.

While the FCC evaluates the potential harms of satellite constellations, it currently exempts almost all telecommunications projects—including satellites—from facing formal environmental reviews.

 

https://phys.org/news/2024-10-musk-tens-thousands-starlink-satellites.html

[DocM]

"SpaceX's satellites are designed to have a roughly five-year lifespan, after which SpaceX ground controllers will deorbit the satellites, let them burn up in Earth's atmosphere and launch replacements. This injection of metals and other compounds into the upper atmosphere from the incineration of the spent satellites has the potential to disturb the delicate balance of elements and molecules in the air, the letter argues."

The case being made is mostly about aluminum, which makes up about 360 tons/year entering the atmosphere due to Starlink. This is going down as a refine manufacturing. The amount coming in as part of meteorites is somewhere north of 1,600 tons per year.

As manufacturing improves the use of aluminum but satellite manufacturers will be going down in aggregate, largely because alternatives to structural aluminum will take its place. Composites are already in use, and another alternative is wood.

NASA and JAXA have been working with Kyoto University on LignoSat, which will use structural wood. It should go uphill to ISS on a SpaceX Dragon cargo flight this year, then be deployed from the space station.