How Likely is a Satellite Apocalypse?

4 months ago
14

Do you know what these little dots are?

I first thought these were all the satellites in the world. But actually, these are just Starlink satellites.

Which at first kinda scared me. Cuz it reminded me of these scientists talking about Kessler Syndrome. A.k.a. satellites collisions starting off a chain reaction. But then I did some quick maths, and realised the fear is way too overblown cuz of these 3 calculations.

The last one made me feel kinda dumb.
The Scale. Each dot that represents a satellite on this map is about the size of New York City. Starlink satellites are like two to three meters wide.

The Orbital Shells. Starlink satellites are in orbit at three different radii, about 5 km apart from each other. That's kinda like spreading three satellites across the height of Mount Everest.

The Spread. Each satellite is spread approximately 400 kilometers apart. That's further than the distance from London to Paris. So, yes, there is a chance of crashing. But I think the odds are low enough to justify giving everyone in the world access to internet.

Sources: https://satellitemap.space/?constellation=starlink

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starlink#:~:text=On December 1%2C 2022%2C the,329 and 332 mile)%20altitude.

Inspiration: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DHJItaBOqqG/

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