If you're in the western half of Canada or the USA, reportedly you've been treated to quite the evening light show of late. What has looked like shooting stars or meteorites entering the Earth's atmosphere has in fact been Starlink satellites burning up in ever greater numbers.
According to (via ), roughly two Starlink satellites are burning up in the Earth's atmosphere every day. And that's set to go up.
A higher orbit would allow for longer-lasting satellites. But one of the obvious advantages of the lower orbit is that satellites naturally fall into the Earth fairly rapidly. That reduces the chances of problems like the so-called Kessler syndrome, a theoretical chain rummy meet reaction in low Earth orbit where an increasing number of space debris objects collide, creating more debris and increasing the probability of further collisions.
By situating its thousands of satellites in very low orbit, Starlink has reduced the chances of that kind of cascade event and also ensured that in the event of any such catastrophe, the worst of it is dissipated more quickly.
Of course, all of that says nothing about the risks of all that debris falling to Earth. Much of it is harmlessly burned up in the atmosphere. A (via ) estimates that one person will be injured or killed by satellite debris every two years by 2035. It also notes that by then 85% of that debris will be made up of Starlink satellites.
It's a real-enough problem, then. What exactly happens if you're hit by the remains of a Starlink satellite, isn't totally clear. Our understand is that international law dictates that private companies aren't liable for any damage or harm from space debris, but their host countries, in this case the USA, may be.
Long story short, that's probably not a dispute you want to get involved in. But in the meantime, the next time you see a shooting star, remember that there's a good chance it's a bit of Starlink's network de-orbiting itself.
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