Elon Musk‘s rocket manufacturing company, SpaceX, announced on Monday its decision to initiate a controlled descent of approximately 100 Starlink satellites, citing an issue that could potentially lead to future failures.
What Happened: According to a statement released by the company, while the current batch of satellites is operational, a discovered issue raises concerns about their future reliability.
As a precautionary measure, SpaceX intends to execute a gradual, controlled descent of around 100 of these satellites in the upcoming weeks and months. The deorbiting process is anticipated to take about six months for most of the affected satellites.
SpaceX disclosed that it has already conducted controlled deorbits for 406 satellites out of the nearly 6,000 Starlink satellites launched into low-Earth orbit. Presently, 17 satellites are non-maneuverable, while 95% of the satellites have completed the deorbiting process. The 17 passively decaying satellites are being carefully monitored to minimize potential collisions with other satellites.
Why It Matters: Despite the reduction in the number of satellites in orbit, SpaceX reassured that the operational efficiency of Starlink’s services will remain unaffected. The company highlighted its manufacturing capacity of 55 Starlink satellites per week and the capability to launch over 200 satellites per month to offset any potential disruption.
In January alone, SpaceX executed seven Starlink missions, deploying more than 150 Starlink satellites into space.
“While this proactive approach comes at the cost of losing satellites that are serving users effectively, we believe it is the right thing to do to keep space safe and sustainable,” the company said in a statement while adding that it encourages all satellite owners and operators to safely de-orbit satellites before they become non-maneuverable in the interest of space safety and sustainability.
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