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Will satellite megaconstellations weaken earth's magnetic field?

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Re: Will satellite megaconstellations weaken earth's magnetic field?

#61

Post by RugnirViking »

lolc wrote: post #4

I for one would like to see the satellites modified with a heat shield so they could punch through and hit a designated deorbit zone. I would even offer my backyard, but I fear it's too small. Wouldn't that be the ultimate tourist attraction? "Witness the next deorbit round tomorrow at Crater Park Observatory!"

they kinda already do, there's a place called the spaceship graveyard where de-orbiting craft target to avoid collisions with inhabited areas

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spacecraft_cemetery

I've often wondered if you could take out a boat there to see a particularly impressive de-orbit. Maybe when they do the ISS, which is scheduled to go there eventually.

There have been cases where craft ended up in inhabited areas. iirc one hit australia and upset some people a few years ago?

Re: Will satellite megaconstellations weaken earth's magnetic field?

#62

Post by phkahler »

lupusreal wrote: post #11
lolc wrote: post #4

I for one would like to see the satellites modified with a heat shield so they could punch through and hit a designated deorbit zone. I would even offer my backyard, but I fear it's too small. Wouldn't that be the ultimate tourist attraction? "Witness the next deorbit round tomorrow at Crater Park Observatory!"

Disney corp could even pay to have regularly scheduled "shooting stars" over their parks.

I've thought about the idea of launching a whole payload full of sand and marbles in a way that produces a show like that over a wide area. But now it's getting nearly impossible with so many satellites up there.

Re: Will satellite megaconstellations weaken earth's magnetic field?

#64

Post by lupusreal »

dragonelite wrote: post #31
lupusreal wrote: post #10

Sometimes it seems like some people have a pathological need to be a doomer about any human activity. See also: "Kessler syndrome" doomerism about LEO satellites, the debris of which would only be a concern for a few years.

Mega constellations could prevent other nations from entering space just by blocking launch windows or hell equip them with energy or kinetic weapons a group can block off space for others..

E.g. Brilliant Pebbles, many thousands of kinetic interceptors in LEO to deny space to the enemy. But using it would be WW3; we'd have bigger things to worry about then.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brilliant_Pebbles

Re: Will satellite megaconstellations weaken earth's magnetic field?

#65

Post by lupusreal »

geerlingguy wrote: post #42
bilsbie wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Almost every technology gets assigned its own existential crisis. I’m not sure what that’s about. (I trace it all back to Jurassic park. It trained an entire generation to be afraid of technology.)

I grew up watching Jurassic Park, and the main takeaway was technology is amazing, but many people will abuse it to get what they want without any regard for potential devastating consequences, often ignoring any logical argument against it if they've already found a path towards profitability.

I think the book is better, it stresses the gap between innovation (particularly driven by startup capitalism) and government regulation. Per the book, when scientists are driven by a profit motive they have an incentive to be secretive to keep their competitors in the dark, and naturally, also keep government regulators in the dark. This mirrors a common observation on HN, that American tech startups profit by finding ways around traditional regulation (Amazon getting around local sales tax, Uber getting around taxi medallion systems, electric scooter rental deploying into cities faster than their sidewalk clutter can be regulated, etc.)

Re: Will satellite megaconstellations weaken earth's magnetic field?

#66

Post by FeepingCreature »

JohnCClarke wrote: post #32

If metallic dust from burnt up satellites can affect the magnetosphere on earth, could we do the same to create a magnetosphere on mars?

Aiui, you don't actually need a magnetosphere to get many of the beneficial effects on atmospheric retention, you just need the bit that's directly between you and the sun. Apparently that's a lot easier.

Re: Will satellite megaconstellations weaken earth's magnetic field?

#67

Post by marcosdumay »

Retric wrote: post #58
marcosdumay wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, I do agree with the general point, but smog and DDT did cause drastic harm. Those two killed millions of people.

Drastic harm may mean something different to you, but numbers aren’t subjective. Why do you think DDT killed millions of people?

Take a look at famines due to ecosystems breakdown in the 20th century.

Re: Will satellite megaconstellations weaken earth's magnetic field?

#68

Post by Zigurd »

zeristor wrote: post #18
lolc wrote: post #4

I for one would like to see the satellites modified with a heat shield so they could punch through and hit a designated deorbit zone. I would even offer my backyard, but I fear it's too small. Wouldn't that be the ultimate tourist attraction? "Witness the next deorbit round tomorrow at Crater Park Observatory!"

Nifty idea. But don’t satellites have toxic components? While most of it will be burnt up some bits get to the ground. Satellites are made from material, and can’t be safely disassembled. Rentry is uncontrolled incineration, depending on a large part of the pollutants being diluted across the sky, and the ground and water on which they fall. Background levels would rise.

The semiconductors in satellites do have some toxic elements that would be released from otherwise inert conditions on burning up on reentry. but that's orders of magnitude less than what's put into the atmosphere from burning coal and gas. Coal contains lots of stuff other than carbon.

Re: Will satellite megaconstellations weaken earth's magnetic field?

#69

Post by OrvalWintermute »

I think this is less likely to be a problem than we think, because of space refurbishment programs that include the capability of gathering satellites, repurposing/refueling, or aggregating them for future use.

Here is an example of one of those missions: OSAM-1 https://www.nasa.gov/mission/on-orbit-servicing-assembly-and...

Re: Will satellite megaconstellations weaken earth's magnetic field?

#70

Post by pfdietz »

Reducing the charged particles in the magnetosphere != weakening the Earth's magnetic field.

The energy in the Earth's magnetic field (above the surface) is about the same as the yield of a 200 megaton bomb. It is produced by currents deep in the Earth, in the core; there is no way satellites could have any effect on that.

Now, getting rid of energetic particles trapped in the magnetosphere is a different question. And that would be a very useful and positive thing to do, as it would make space safer for both satellites and astronauts.

Also, ionosphere != magnetosphere.

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