SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, announced on Tuesday its intention to deorbit 100 early-version 1 Starlink satellites as part of its commitment to ensuring the safety, sustainability, and accessibility of space. These efforts aim to protect both astronauts and satellites in orbit, as well as the public on the ground.
What will SpaceX do?
The company’s Starlink satellites are positioned in a low-Earth orbit (LEO) below 600 kilometers, enabling them to provide relatively low-latency internet services. While SpaceX asserts that its satellites will naturally deorbit within five years or less if they fail in orbit, they have proactively initiated the c
ontrolled deorbiting of 406 out of the nearly 6,000 satellites launched to date.
Of these, 95% have already descended from orbit, while 17 are non-maneuverable. These non-maneuverable satellites are carefully monitored to prevent collisions with other satellites.
The deorbiting process for the 100 satellites will involve a safe, circular, and controlled descent, expected to take approximately six months for most of the vehicles. SpaceX emphasizes that a controlled, propulsive deorbit is shorter and safer than a comparable ballistic deorbit from the same altitude.
Throughout the descent, all satellites will retain their maneuverability and collision avoidance capabilities. Additionally, these deorbiting satellites will assume maneuver responsibility for any high-risk conjunctions, aligning with space safety and sustainability best practices.
Space debris poses a significant threat to both satellites and astronauts in orbit, such as those aboard the International Space Station or China’s Tiangong space station.
At typical orbital speeds of around 35,000 kilometers per hour, even small debris fragments can carry significant momentum, akin to a car driving on a highway. Moreover, collisions between debris fragments can further exacerbate the issue by creating additional pieces of debris.
Why It Matters?
Despite the reduction in the number of satellites in orbit, SpaceX reassures that the operational efficiency of Starlink’s services will remain unaffected. The company emphasizes its manufacturing capacity of 55 Starlink satellites per week and the capability to launch over 200 satellites per month to mitigate any potential disruption.
In January alone, SpaceX executed seven Starlink missions, deploying more than 150 Starlink satellites into space.
“While this proactive approach comes at the cost of losing satellites that are serving users effectively, we believe it is the right thing to do to keep space safe and sustainable,” stated the company in a press release. Additionally, SpaceX encourages all satellite owners and operators to safely de-orbit satellites before they become non-maneuverable, in line with principles of space safety and sustainability.
