Prof. Sam LawlerOct 13, 2023

Not worried enough about corporate over-development of orbit yet? New article: companies have now filed asking for a total of ONE MILLION satellites: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adi4639

Non-paywalled version here: https://www.outerspaceinstitute.ca/docs/One%20million%20(paper)%20satellites%20-%20Accepted%20Version%20.pdf

There is no way we can have anywhere near one million satellites in orbit without going into full Kessler Syndrome and destroying everything in orbit - making satellite science, communication, and interplanetary exploration impossible for decades.

Show threadDr. Jürgen KnödlsederOct 13, 2023
@sundogplanets It’s rather centuries, not decades. At 1000 km a satellite stays up there for 1000 years.
Show threadProf. Sam LawlerOct 13, 2023

@jknodlseder I'm thinking Starlink altitudes, but yeah, you are right, and some debris will end up on higher orbits light that if we do indeed enter this worst-case scenario ugh.

Do you have a good scientific reference for drag/deorbit time vs. altitude?

Show threadDr. Jürgen KnödlsederOct 13, 2023
@sundogplanets Unfortunately not. I got the 1000 km - 1000 years rule from an expert on orbital debris from the French Space Agency who gave a talk at our lab.
Show threadCogito Ergo Disputo
@jknodlseder @sundogplanets unless you push them down. We will need a company or supranational entity with a space drone capable of pushing decommissioned satellites down. Then there's all the space debris that needs to be removed.
Oct 15, 2023 at 2:18pmWeb