Starlink, another satellite explodes in orbit

The episode recalls a similar incident that occurred last December, when another satellite of the network was destroyed in similar circumstances, just a week after a flyby with a Chinese probe. The criticality comes in a context of growing crowding of low Earth orbit, an area in which over 24,000 objects are currently being tracked. Of these, around 10,000 belong to the Starlink infrastructure alone, raising questions about the management of space traffic and the sustainability of the massive launch operations conducted by the Hawthorne company.

In this scenario, SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell recently confirmed her intention to drastically expand the group’s presence in space. The company has in fact requested licenses from the FCC for the use of one million satellites dedicated to artificial intelligence and the creation of orbital data centers. This aggressive growth strategy manifests itself at a decisive financial moment, as the group prepares for a stock market listing with potentially historic volumes, seeking to balance technological ambitions with the growing operational challenges related to extra-atmospheric security.