41–50 of 77 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
5200 tonnes of micrometeorites hit the earth each year. Star link isn’t going to make a difference. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/antarctic-study-s...
With 22.8 tonnes per Falcon 9 launch, and 50 of those per year? That's 1140 tonnes /year of new debris in the upper atmosphere, a 21% increase. I'd say that is quite a significant change.
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Until all those sats re-enter, burn up and pollute the upper atmosphere
5200 tonnes of micrometeorites hit the earth each year. Star link isn’t going to make a difference. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/antarctic-study-s...
See how your argument is wrong ?
Lost $250M using the advertised launch price of $67M for Falcon 9 , which of course is way higher than what it actually costs SpaceX.
The fuel costs about half a million. Beyond that it's mostly people's times and materials they have stockpiled for economies of scale. I would guess the lost satellites cost a bit more to manufacture that to launch in a reused Falcon 9.
Lost 200 but launched 345, almost all of which are the latest upgraded version. The satellites are designed to last 5 years (the lifetime is limited by propellant because of atmospheric drag at their low altitude) and the first batches were launched 4 years ago now. As the constellation matures they will be de-orbiting satellites about as fast as they launch them. Seems to me like the long term viability of Starlink…
If they're losing ones that were close to their max. life anyway that's possibly no great loss, however if they were newer satellites on top of expected attrition that's more of a concern.
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How do solar flares burn satellites? I thought they just mess up the ionosphere and inhibit communication.
Solar radiation pressure is a non-negligible perturbation to an orbit, especially during solar weather events.
Lost 200 but launched 345, almost all of which are the latest upgraded version. The satellites are designed to last 5 years (the lifetime is limited by propellant because of atmospheric drag at their low altitude) and the first batches were launched 4 years ago now. As the constellation matures they will be de-orbiting satellites about as fast as they launch them. Seems to me like the long term viability of Starlink…
This is just wishful thinking without any data backing it up.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
With 22.8 tonnes per Falcon 9 launch, and 50 of those per year? That's 1140 tonnes /year of new debris in the upper atmosphere, a 21% increase. I'd say that is quite a significant change.
Almost none of it hits the earth. They burn up in the atmosphere.
Lost 200 but launched 345, almost all of which are the latest upgraded version. The satellites are designed to last 5 years (the lifetime is limited by propellant because of atmospheric drag at their low altitude) and the first batches were launched 4 years ago now. As the constellation matures they will be de-orbiting satellites about as fast as they launch them. Seems to me like the long term viability of Starlink…
> Seems to me like the long term viability of Starlink (if it's not already profitable) will be assured if Starship meets its goals. They'll be able to launch way more satellites at once, for less per launch, and with faster turnaround. This is just wishful thinking without any data backing it up.
Which data are you looking for?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
5200 tonnes of micrometeorites hit the earth each year. Star link isn’t going to make a difference. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/antarctic-study-s...
With 22.8 tonnes per Falcon 9 launch, and 50 of those per year? That's 1140 tonnes /year of new debris in the upper atmosphere, a 21% increase. I'd say that is quite a significant change.
So if they all burned up today it would be around a 6% yearly increase, globally? (1663 / 5200 * 5). And that's probably the most forgiving estimate I could come up with, I think your ~20% number is more accurate for future projection purposes given most of the mass was launched in a much shorter timespan.
Then the real question is what effect does space dust have on the earth's atmosphere (if any).
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_Starlink_...