- A report suggests that by 2035 Starlinks will kill someone
- The FAA claims Starlinks will account for most of the satellites in orbit by then
- READ MORE: Elon’s new Starlink satellites fall from the sky and burn up
A new report from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) warns Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites could kill or seriously injure someone by 2035.
The regulators published a 35-page analysis, predicting that 28,000 hazardous fragments from de-orbiting satellites could survive re-entry over the next 12 years.
Musk plans to have at least 42,000 Starlinks in orbit in the coming years – the most of any company.
SpaceX’s Starlinks would represents more than 85 percent of the expected risk to people on the ground and aviation from falling debris in the time frame, the report claims.
Musk’s SpaceX isn’t taking the allegations lightly — the company’s chief engineer made ridiculous, unjustified and inaccurate analysis in a letter to the FAA and Congress.
A new Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report warns Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites could kill or seriously injure someone by 2035
SpaceX chief engineer David Goldstein said the report relied on “deeply flawed analysis.” CNN.
“To be clear, SpaceX’s satellites are designed and built to fully die during atmospheric reentry during end-of-life disposal, and they do,” the letter said.
The company also criticized the Aerospace Corporation, a nonprofit organization that compiled the data, for not contacting SpaceX for more information.
The letter also states that 325 Starlink satellites have been deorbited since February 2020, and no debris has been found.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration issued a statement Tuesday saying it approached SpaceX two years ago to conduct an independent assessment of collective risks associated with satellite reentry, based on the projection of all planned operators under U.S. regulation in 2021.
“The data included existing and planned constellations up to 2035. The largest percentage of satellites were those in Low Earth orbit.”
Musk’s SpaceX is not taking the allegations lightly – the company’s chief engineer called on the FAA and Congress in a letter to analyze ridiculous, unwarranted and inaccurate analyses.
Along with potential human casualties, the report says air travel could also be threatened by falling space debris.
‘The probability of an aircraft accident (defined in the Aviation Report as a collision with an aircraft crashing) in 2035 will be 0.0007 per year,’ the document states.
SpaceX launched Starlink satellites in May 2019, sending more than 5,000 mass-produced objects into space.
The company has announced that it will reach more than 2 million subscribers by September 2023 and plans to deploy 12,000 satellites – a goal that could be increased to 42,000.
The SpaceX Starlink is a low-orbit satellite that provides Internet with unlimited data and fast broadband speeds.
The satellites offer users fixed location or portable internet options for a solid price.
Internet provider T-Mobile provides broadband for $50 monthly with no installation fee – while Starlink charges up to $2,500 for installation and can cost users up to $250 a month.
New research has shown that low-frequency radio waves – like those produced by Musk’s machines – leak into the air, making it difficult for scientists to make astronomical observations.
Scientists are also concerned that Musk’s ‘space junk’ could trigger an extreme collision event.
The ‘Kessler Syndrome’ – proposed by NASA scientist Donald Kessler in 1978 – stated that if there is too much space debris in Earth’s orbit, the objects could collide and make MORE space debris. This will cause the Earth’s orbit to become unstable.
