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The sun is killing off SpaceX's Starlink satellites (www.newscientist.com)

submitted 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 week ago (1 children)

this is beneficial to SpaceX as it means the end of life satellites will re-enter faster, getting them out of the way for their replacements

They can deorbit them at any time though?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 week ago (2 children)

As far as I'm aware, yes. Maybe the article meant they could use less fuel to do so?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 week ago

I reread the article, I reckon it's about satellites in general deorbiting faster to avoid a Kessler syndrome scenario

Sean Elvidge at the University of Birmingham, UK, says this effect could benefit satellite operators like SpaceX by removing dead satellites from orbit more quickly that could otherwise pose a danger to other satellites. “It’s speeding up that process,” he says. However, it could limit our ability to operate satellites in orbits below 400 kilometres, known as very low Earth orbit. “It shows that could be challenging,” he says.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 week ago (1 children)

any fuel is... already in space, it's not like they're getting it back if they don't use it

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 week ago

I just looked it up, and yes they deorbit the satellites, but their re-entry orbit takes up to six months. So speeding that up does seem advantageous.