Re:SpaceX just got FCC approval to launch 7,518 satellites
by Rooster61 on Thursday November 15, 2018 @03:15PM
(#18462869)
I'm no stranger to the vast physical space at play here (amateur astronomer, here). I'm aware there is a LOT of room for this stuff to move around, but there is still a threshold, however high, to where the amount of debris would become dangerously numerous.
[ Parent
| on HN ]
Re:SpaceX just got FCC approval to launch 7,518 satellites
by soared on Thursday November 15, 2018 @03:31PM
(#18462984)
And you think that we can only fit <10k objects in an area larger than the surface of the earth?
Re:SpaceX just got FCC approval to launch 7,518 satellites
by Rooster61 on Thursday November 15, 2018 @03:44PM
(#18463100)
<10K isn't the problem. It's when that 10K becomes much, much larger because of an unforeseen collision with an unrelated spacecraft/piece of space junk. It only takes one big collision to utterly litter that particular orbit, and thousands of slightly different orbits caused by the new trajectories of the various bits of the original spacecraft.
Re:SpaceX just got FCC approval to launch 7,518 satellites
by ALurchyBeast on Thursday November 15, 2018 @04:35PM
(#18463610)
So whats your solution? Never put a bunch of satellites in space?
Re:SpaceX just got FCC approval to launch 7,518 satellites
by penagwin on Thursday November 15, 2018 @09:12PM
(#18465706)
He's not necessarily saying he know's a solution, just that such a problem should be considered. Satellites do collide - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_satellite_collision
The idea of satellite collisions and space junk is an actual concern https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kessler_syndrome .
Sure a few washing machines in space isn't a big concern. Now imagine a few collide, hundreds of bits and bolts flying around earth, at unknown trajetories, at thousands of miles per hour.
Re:SpaceX just got FCC approval to launch 7,518 satellites
by ceejayoz on Friday November 16, 2018 @06:01PM
(#18472652)
There are a variety of potential mitigations. Legal requirements that satellites deorbit or park in a safe orbit before going dark, technology like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E.Deorbit to capture and deorbit large chunks, better tracking of orbital debris, etc.
Re:SpaceX just got FCC approval to launch 7,518 satellites
by hwillis on Thursday November 15, 2018 @03:43PM
(#18463089)
At any one time there are usually <10k airplanes in the sky,and they still hit each other sometimes despite going 23x slower than satellites
Re:SpaceX just got FCC approval to launch 7,518 satellites
by JshWright on Thursday November 15, 2018 @03:58PM
(#18463245)
The vast majority of those collisions occur in areas where planes are forced to congregate (around airports, etc).
Re:SpaceX just got FCC approval to launch 7,518 satellites
by cartoonfoxes on Thursday November 15, 2018 @07:20PM
(#18464914)
Isn't there high traffic where polar intersect? See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_satellite_collision.
Re:SpaceX just got FCC approval to launch 7,518 satellites
by Rooster61 on Thursday November 15, 2018 @03:45PM
(#18463119)
To be fair, a lot of that is because of the fact that planes follow paths that are designed to keep collisions from happening, but aren't always adhered to.