A new study from the University of Southern California published last week found that SpaceX’s Starlink satellites could be depleting the Earth’s ozone layer. The researchers estimated the potential damage caused by Internet service satellites burning up in the atmosphere and releasing aluminum oxides. With its growing artificial constellation, SpaceX could shed more than 1,000 tons of aluminum oxide each year, a relative increase of 646 percent. at natural levels.
SpaceX It currently has just over 6,000 Starlink satellites in orbit around the planet. Each iteration has gotten increasingly heavier, with the latest model weighing 2,760 pounds. Each satellite It is designed to deorbit and burn up in the atmosphere at the end of its useful life, that is, between five and seven years. SpaceX plans to double the number of satellites with aspirations to have seven times the current total in orbit. Yes, 42,000 satellites in orbit.
The scariest part is that we don’t know precisely how much damage this huge constellation could cause. The study states, “The environmental impacts of satellite re-entry are currently not well understood.” If the service expands as expected, more than 8,000 satellites could disintegrate above us each year.
As you may remember from the 80s and 90s, the ozone layer is vital to our survival. Absorbs ultraviolet radiation from the sun. According to the EPA, Excessive UV radiation would significantly reduce crop yields and disrupt the marine food chain. This in addition to causing skin cancer and weakening our immune system. While SpaceX addressed FAA concerns That people could rain down satellite debris has opened the door to an environmental disaster that could wipe out humanity as we know it.
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