SpaceX's Starlink Satellites Cause 1,600 Near-Crashes In Orbit Per Week

Space junk is a real problem, and Elon Musk's SpaceX satellites are not helping. Turns out, the Starlink series of satellites aimed at providing internet connectivity are crowding space.

ALSO READ: SpaceX Starlink: Sign Up Open For Elon Musk's Internet Offering 1 Gbps Speed

The increasingly high number of Elon Musk-flavoured satellites are now creating new hazards for other satellites.

NASA/Reuters

How Starlink satellites are adding to space junk

While humans inserted thousands of satellites into space, we didn't take into account the waste it would generate and how obsolete satellites would continue to spin in space. Now, new research points to the gravity of the situation, claiming that half of the near-misses in orbit were caused by Starlink satellites.

The research, undertaken by University of Southampton's Astronautics Research Group, was headed by Hugh Lewis. Lewis told LiveScience that Starlink near-misses happen 1,600 times every week.

Also read: International Space Station's Robotic Arm ¡®Canadarm2¡¯ Hit By Space Junk

Lewis believes the number will grow as Starlink shoots up more satellites in the sky.

Near miss refers to two satellites passing within almost a kilometre (0.6 miles) of each other.

Reuters

What does this mean? Essentially, SpaceX is a bigger threat to its own satellite network than other satellites in the sky now.

Most near-crashes occur among Starlink satellites. And according to a Futurism estimate, the chance of collision drops to 500 each week, still higher than most satellite groups.

Currently, SpaceX has 1,735 satellites in orbit and these numbers are only expected to rise.

Could a "space claw" be the solution?

In November 2020, the European Space Agency announced plans to clean space... through a claw.

The claw would essentially scoop up defunct satellites and shoot them through the Earth's atmosphere, where they will burn.

Reuters

As space fills up with more objects than ever before, space agencies around the world are considering different ways to clean space.

Also read: Japan Is Developing Wooden Satellites To Cut Space Junk

According to DailyMail, there are currently 160 million pieces of space debris in space, especially around Earth. Captured by Earth's gravity, the objects orbit the planet at speeds that can touch at least 28,000 kilometres per hour (18,000 miles).

Of these 160 million pieces of space junk, at least a million are bigger than a centimetre. And scientists fear a chain reaction could damage hundreds of satellites in one go. Currently, over 2,800 satellites orbit Earth. In addition, 3,000 dead satellites also encircle the planet.