Satellite Internet group aims to provide low cost Internet to remote locations, but it produces some annoying side effects.
Here are the biggest problems posed by SpaceX, from spoiling views to destroying the ozone layer.
Causing collision threats
SpaceX recently launched its 2,000th Starlink satellite into orbit.
The sheer number of these devices has raised fears of colliding with other objects in space.
The issue caused an uproar in China after it was reported that the Tiangong space station had suffered two near-fatal satellite accidents.
“For safety reasons, the Chinese space station has implemented a preemptive collision avoidance system,” Beijing said in a document submitted to the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, and other organizations echoed those concerns.
In August 2021, a leading expert on space debris told SPACE that Starlink satellites are involved in about 50% of close encounters between two spacecraft.
Musk rejected claims that satellites take up too much space.
According to a report by TheNextWeb, Starlink has caused significant light pollution.
Scientists also fear that the satellites will add space junk and chemicals to the atmosphere.
Massive objects can alter the chemistry of the upper atmosphere. Another issue is related to aluminum burning from dead satellites.
And SpaceX’s News of Scientists reported last June that this may have an unexplored side effect on the ozone layer.
SpaceX now owns more than half of the active satellites orbiting the Earth, the SpaceX satellites.
According to simulations by a team of Canadian astrophysicists, one in 15 sources of visible light in the night sky will be close to satellites.
SpaceX has worked to reduce the satellite’s reflectance, but astronomers say it’s still too bright.
Astronomers fear that the satellites may make it difficult to spot asteroids near Earth.
One of their concerns is the sheer number of devices. The other includes the streaks of light it produces, which can disrupt observations taken by telescopes.