24-05-2019, 09:48 AM
1
SpaceX puts up 60 internet satellites
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-48289204Entrepreneur Elon Musk's firm aims eventually to loft nearly 12,000 spacecraft for its "Starlink" network.
To give context to what is about to happen - there are just 2,000 operational satellites in orbit today, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists' database. SpaceX's ambitions alone, if fully realised, would dwarf this population.
The great fear is that congested orbital highways will result in collisions and the production of debris that then initiates further destructive encounters.
Orbital Debris
Orbital debris is any man-made object in orbit about the Earth which no longer serves a useful function. Such debris includes nonfunctional spacecraft, abandoned launch vehicle stages, mission-related debris and fragmentation debris.
There are more than 20,000 pieces of debris larger than a softball orbiting the Earth. They travel at speeds up to 17,500 mph, fast enough for a relatively small piece of orbital debris to damage a satellite or a spacecraft. There are 500,000 pieces of debris the size of a marble or larger. There are many millions of pieces of debris that are so small they can’t be tracked.
24-05-2019, 04:17 PM
3
Re: SpaceX puts up 60 internet satellites
Originally Posted by Longdogs
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That was my first thought when I heard they intend to put 12,000 satellites up there. Surely at some point they will be falling out of the sky and hit us on the head. I know the Earth is a big place but I'm feeling unlucky.
Regards Donkeyman!
27-05-2019, 08:41 PM
5
Re: SpaceX puts up 60 internet satellites
Originally Posted by Longdogs
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That's true but we'll be OK so long as we can't buy a coffee in a plastic cup. 
But what we are seeing l think is the beginning of the
privatisation of space!
Soon private companies will be taking ownership of
asteroids etc and then bringing them from the asteroid
belt back to earth orbit where they can pillage them for
minerals etc, They will do this without thoughts of any
consequences that might be caused by their actions
I dont care to think what will happen in the next 50yrs
let alone 100?
Best Regards Donkeymab!
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