Starlink reaches 10,000 satellites launched, but not without consequences

10,000 Starlink satellites in space

Two Falcon 9 rockets were launched from California and Florida on Sunday, carrying a total of 56 new satellites into orbit, as SpaceX announced on social media. This means the company has officially passed the 10,000 mark for satellites launched.

According to astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, there have been 10,044 Starlink satellites launched since the project started in 2019. Around 8,680 of these are currently in active orbit above Earth, while approximately one to two satellites burn up every day in Earth’s atmosphere.

Space internet… with side effects

Starlink aims to bring broadband internet to pretty much every region of the world, but the project is controversial. Researchers warn that mega-constellations—such as Starlink, Amazon Kuiper, and Chinese systems—could increasingly clog up low-Earth orbit and generate dangerous space debris through collisions. Astronomers also criticize the fact that the bright satellites interfere with sky observations.

According to US researchers, the growing number of satellites in low-Earth orbit could soon leave measurable traces in the atmosphere. Aluminium oxide is produced when old satellites burn up and is deposited in high layers of air. A recent study warns that if more than 60,000 satellites are in low orbit by 2040, up to 10,000 tons of aluminium oxide could be released every year.

This would warm the top layer of the atmosphere by around 1.5 degrees Celsius and influence chemical processes that also affect the ozone layer. The researchers emphasize that further studies are urgently needed to better understand the exact effects. And while there’s still uncertainty about the exact extent, experts also agree that rapid satellite expansion also increases risks to the environment and climate.

This is still just the beginning

For SpaceX, the current record is just an interim step. While old satellites burn up every day, new ones are launched regularly. The average life span of a Starlink satellite is around five years, as reported by The Verge.

If the expansion plans become reality, more than 30,000 Starlink satellites could be orbiting the earth in a few years—more than all other satellite programmes combined.

Further reading: What I wish I knew before I got Starlink home internet