Science: Scientists are sounding the alarm bells about the growing number of satellites burning up in Earth’s upper atmosphere. When satellites burn, the material they contain produces chemicals that are known to damage the ozone layer and affect Earth’s climate. Does this mean we should stop sending spacecraft into space? Not necessarily. Here are four measures that could help reduce the amount of potentially harmful satellite ash in the atmosphere.
The space industry is growing rapidly. Over the past 15 years, the number of satellites in orbit has increased tenfold, and that growth is expected to continue. Within 10 years, there could be 100,000 satellites orbiting Earth, 100 times more than in 2010. Most of these satellites will belong to megaconstellations, which are vast fleets of thousands of satellites, such as SpaceX’s Starlink.
Megaconstellation operators want to replace their satellites with new, more powerful ones every five years. To prevent the accumulation of debris in space, they plan to burn old satellites by sending them into the atmosphere. However, UK start-up Space Forge proposes a different solution. Satellites should be designed to survive re-entry in flames so that they can be brought back to the ground, rebuilt and launched again.
