Starlink satellite go boom?

[Cmaier]

A Starlink Satellite Is Tumbling Toward Earth After a Strange Anomaly in Orbit

The satellite suffered a sudden drop in altitude, suggesting there may have been a small explosion.

gizmodo.com

Exploding space junk won’t be a long term problem at all, I’m sure.

 

[dada_dave]

Oh that's not good at all

 

[Citysnaps]

A Starlink Satellite Is Tumbling Toward Earth After a Strange Anomaly in Orbit

The satellite suffered a sudden drop in altitude, suggesting there may have been a small explosion.

gizmodo.com

Exploding space junk won’t be a long term problem at all, I’m sure.

With around 9,000 Starlink satellites currently in orbit, I wouldn’t be surprised if another country's killer-satellite development program uses a few of them now and then as test targets. Or perhaps from an anti-satelite (ASAT) directed energy weapon from Earth.

 

[Cmaier]

With around 9,000 Starlink satellites currently in orbit, I would be surprised if another country's killer-satellite development program uses a few of them now and then as test targets.

I think i read somewhere that these things deorbit after about 3 years? I’d certainly take a potshot or two at some of these if they were already re-entering. Hitting them while in orbit leaves a dangerous mess for everyone else up there.

 

[dada_dave]

I think i read somewhere that these things deorbit after about 3 years? I’d certainly take a potshot or two at some of these if they were already re-entering. Hitting them while in orbit leaves a dangerous mess for everyone else up there.

Yeah for just a test that would be near catastrophic in low earth orbit, it's already a mess. That would be if you've decided to hit the fuck it button and everyone gets shafted (basically war is happening).

 

[mr_roboto]

I think i read somewhere that these things deorbit after about 3 years? I’d certainly take a potshot or two at some of these if they were already re-entering. Hitting them while in orbit leaves a dangerous mess for everyone else up there.

Yeah, they don't stay up for long. Very low orbit, and because they want a huge constellation for Earth surface coverage, they have to launch a lot of them on each rocket. There's not enough weight budget to give each satellite enough orbital maneuvering fuel to remain on orbit for very long. As a system, Starlink requires frequent replenishment with new satellites to replace older ones that have burned up their fuel and have to be commanded to do one last reentry burn to dispose of the satellite in a controlled way.

Cynics have observed that this system design is suspiciously tailored to give SpaceX some internal demand for high volume launches, helping them to justify the insane Starship program to investors. (There's not really enough natural demand for heavy lift to be doing Starship at all.) Lots of reasons to think that Musk's empire is extremely shaky and likely to collapse as soon as the market loses its irrational confidence in Musk.

Getting back to the topic, the one positive of those very low orbits is that atmospheric drag is significant enough to deorbit debris quickly if someone does shoot a Starlink satellite. It might be rough on the Starlink constellation, though.

 

[turbineseaplane]

This brings to mind the visualizations of everything in low Earth orbit.

It's shocking to see

Low Earth Orbit Visualization | LeoLabs

A visualization of satellites, debris, and other objects tracked by LeoLabs in low earth orbit

platform.leolabs.space

 

[Herdfan]

This article was posted on the r/starlink Reddit.

SpaceX Starlink Satellite Breaks Apart in Orbit, Raising Fresh Fears Over Space Debris

A SpaceX Starlink satellite is falling to Earth after a mid-orbit failure on 17 December. While the craft is expected to burn up safely beneath the International Space Station, the event highlights growing worries over orbital debris.

www.ibtimes.co.uk

 

[Nycturne]

Yeah, they don't stay up for long. Very low orbit, and because they want a huge constellation for Earth surface coverage, they have to launch a lot of them on each rocket. There's not enough weight budget to give each satellite enough orbital maneuvering fuel to remain on orbit for very long. As a system, Starlink requires frequent replenishment with new satellites to replace older ones that have burned up their fuel and have to be commanded to do one last reentry burn to dispose of the satellite in a controlled way.

It's also a case of wanting to keep latency reasonable, and bandwidth from dropping into the toilet. Geosynchronous latency bottoms out around 300ms, just from the limits of the speed of light. Doing a ~80,000 km round trip for every packet is kinda silly when trying to play a game with your buddy ~100km away.

Getting back to the topic, the one positive of those very low orbits is that atmospheric drag is significant enough to deorbit debris quickly if someone does shoot a Starlink satellite. It might be rough on the Starlink constellation, though.

That's the one saving grace, for varying definitions of "quickly". Decay times are still measured in years.