SpaceX’s plans to ramp up satellites causes fear of space debris

Elon Musk’s SpaceX aims for an additional launch of tens of thousands of satellites into space

American aerospace manufacturer, SpaceX has disclosed dramatic plans for the coming future, entailing launch of a large number of satellites to increase their presence in orbit, which has become a major concern for NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration).

Speculations have it that NASA officials are uneased with SpaceX’s recently unveiled plans owing to the already existing concern of growing space debris.

While thirty-thousand satellites traversing through an orbit around the Earth may not be perceived as an alarming number, that many collisions can be a challenge.

According to Céline d’Orgeville, professor at ANU Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, satellite collisions can be destructive and lead to space debris. A single collision is capable of drastically worsening the situation.

SpaceX has been an interesting player in the aerospace defense industry after successfully usurping the U.S. government’s role in the field of space travel and space technology.

In line with the space tech company’s big satellite plans, SpaceX is pursuing a lunch of more than thousands of satellite in orbit.

Speaking on the growing space debris concern, Professor d’Orgeville mentioned that rather than focusing on two larger objects that would be relatively easier to track, space initiatives are resulting in a cloud of smaller debris, which can be very tedious to track and deal with.

She added that if this trend of letting debris accumulate in space continues, it may soon develop ‘Kessler Syndrome’, which refers to a scenario of extravagant number of collisions resulting in a snowball effect that is incapable of stopping the chain reaction.

According to NASA, approximately 500,000 pieces of space junk are present around the Earth, observing a heavy concentration of debris near orbits that lie closest to the Earth’s surface.

It has been reported that part of space with maximum traffic is an area from 800km to 1,000km above Earth’s surface, where most communication satellites are positioned.

Source Credit: https://daytonews.com/2022/02/13/spacexs-big-satellite-plans-raises-fears-of-debris-cloud-in-space/