Astronomers have previously warned that SpaceX is blinding humanity’s view of space by flooding orbit with thousands of satellites, and now space is seemingly pushing back. NASA scientists found that geomagnetic storms are shortening the lifespan of Starlink satellites. The death throes of these satellites are being shortened from 15 days down to just five days.
During the waning days of a Starlink satellite’s life, its orbit will decay beneath 285 miles in altitude, close enough to the planet that the atmosphere will slow its speed and plunge it towards its fiery demise. The solar maximum is accelerating the end-stage process, according to the New Scientist. The once-every-11-year peak in eruptions on the Sun’s surface creates geomagnetic storms that heat the atmosphere and increase atmospheric drag.
This wouldn’t be an issue if it were just a few dozen metallic lumps looping around our blue marble. However, there are approximately 7,000 Starlink satellites in orbit, with SpaceX aspiring to operate a 42,000-satellite constellation. It’s far from sustainable to have that many man-made objects burning up in the atmosphere. At scale, there will be satellites burning up every day. If that process is three times faster, it could have devastating consequences.
Starlink is burning a hole in the ozone layer to rake in billions
To start, Starlink satellites are designed to die. SpaceX launches them into orbit to spend roughly five years transmitting data before their orbit decays. Elon Musk’s private space company has to constantly replenish its Starlink constellation to provide consistent communications coverage. Academic researchers have previously levied concerns that the sheer volume of re-entries could deplete the ozone layer by releasing 1,000 tons of aluminum oxide into the atmosphere every year.
Despite the concerns, SpaceX has zero reason to slow the exponential growth of its Starlink constellation. Starlink is expected to generate over $12 billion this year, Ars Technica reports. This is a massive increase compared to an estimated $8 billion figure for 2024. How did this happen? Elon Musk bankrolled Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, and Musk’s business ventures started to rake in even more federal dollars. In February, Starlink snatched a $2.4 billion contract with the Federal Aviation Administration from Verizon. Starlink is gradually ingraining itself as a communications backbone for various industries, but it’ll never be big enough to plug a new hole in the ozone layer.