fj, 3 months ago

~100 more Starlink v1 satellites will be burning up in the upper atmosphere in the next 6 months, bringing up the total number of de-orbited Starlink satellites to ~500 out of 6000 launched
https://api.starlink.com/public-files/Commitment%20to%20Space%20Sustainability.pdf

De-orbiting satellites by burning them up did work when the volume of satellites was small, but already 10% of aerosol particules in the stratosphere contain aluminum/other metals.
The problem is only going to get worse with the launch of megaconstellations https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2313374120