Elon Musk’s satellites fall into Earth – and endangered us

Starlink owned by the world’s richest man Elon Musk Migrated thousands of satellites to space designed to improve Internet communication in remote areas and also on aircraft, but every day some of them fall into the sky and burned in our atmosphere. These satellites, in a low route around the earth, have recently become a significant environmental phenomenon, which provokes increasing concern from the scientific community.

So far, Spacex has risen more than 8,000 Starlink satellites into space, and according to the design, their numbers will reach tens of thousands in the coming years. The satellites, each weighing about 250 pounds, are designed to hold only about five years.

At the end of their activities, they are directed back to Earth, where they are burned and consuming in the upper layers of the atmosphere. Apparently this is a responsible process, which prevents the accumulation of dangerous waste in space, but It turns out that this process has significant environmental implications. And recently experts around the world have warned of the most difficult injuries to us, humans.

“For Swin to persevere in a space track he must move at a huge speed” explains Prof. Meir ArielThe head of the Tel Aviv University Space Engineering Center, “in a 500-mile space where satellite cruises, there is an attraction that less than 10% of the Earth’s attraction. In order for Levin to persevere and cruise around the Earth, it needs a balance between the Earth’s gravity and the centrifugal power.

The missile that plays the satellite into space moves at 29,000 miles per hour, and gives Levin the speed boost. Since the space has a vacuum without air or resistance, the satellites continue at this speed as the time is slowly reducing their speed due to friction with the first layers of atmosphere. Over time, they rub with more and more atmosphere until they are completely burned and leave the space waste. ”

As mentioned, when they re -entered the atmosphere, Starlink satellites are heated to extremely high temperatures, which causes decomposition and emitting tiny particles of aluminum oxide. This material, which accounts for about 40% of the weight of the satellite, accumulates in the high atmosphere layers and remains there for decades.

As the number of satellites increases, the amount of emitted aluminum oxide increases. In only 2022, the satellite falls put 41.7 tons into the atomosapir, a significantly higher figure than the natural amount released from tiny meteorites. According to researchers, in the coming years the aluminum amount may reach 360 tonnes per year-a hundred percent increase in comparison to the existing natural levels today.

These particles do not remain unaffected: Scientists fear that they may be a catalyst for chemical reactions that are harmful to the ozone layer. Although the aluminum oxide does not directly impair the ozone molecules, it accelerates chemical processes where ozone molecules break down faster. The worrying implication is that a single particle of aluminum can cause thousands of ozone molecules for decades, which can lead to significant harm to the ozone layer that protects us from a dangerous ultraviolet radiation.

The environmental effects of the Starlink satellite fall can be particularly severe in light of the recovery that the ozone has achieved since the 1980s, following the ban on the use of gas as CFC. Today, the scientists warn that the aluminum emitted from the satellites may bring back the wheel back, slow down the ozone layer’s pace and even make the positive trend achieved so far.

This injury may lead to a renewed increase in the purple radiation, which will cause an increase in skin and cancer disease, the immune system damage, while at the same time leading to damage to agricultural crops and sensitive ecological systems such as the marine food chain.

But this is not just the environment and human health. The economic damage involved in this phenomenon is also significant. The costs involved in launching and replacing satellites frequently are huge. The most prominent event was in 2022, then Eilon Musk’s SpaceX company lost 38 new satellites shortly after it was launched, following an unexpected geomagnetic storm. This event caused economic damage of millions of dollars and a sudden flow of aluminum particles into the atmosphere.

Another problem is due to the lack of regulatory supervision. To date, there is no international regulation binding about the aerial infection caused by falling satellites. In the United States, the body responsible for communications satellites, the FCC, does not refer to the aluminum waste created by the satellites’ extermination process, and commercial companies are not subject to environmental regulations in this area. The UN has not yet been able to formulate binding agreements, and the efforts to limit pollution are still in their early age.

“Until five years ago, about a thousand satellites a year,” explains Professor Ariel, “only in the past year to Musk’s Starling has 7,000 satellites and they want to reach 30,000 satellites. This means that space will be more identified, the chance of clashes between growing satellites, which will create more and more parts that will be burned. In our health, he will increase the greenhouse effect, leaving dangerous contaminants for human health. ”

In the scientific community, a clear voice calls for the development of technological solutions that will reduce the injury. A number of new studies offer ways to reduce the use of aluminum satellites or to plan more steep entrance routes, which will arrange the particles in the high layers of the atmosphere.

Experts recommend examining the possibility of placing satellites after their end in a higher route, where they will not impair the atmosphere layer, or a commitment will be required from satellite companies to lower the satellites to the country so that they do not burn in space and leave an infection. While these solutions may increase the launches, they are essential for the protection of the earth. “International art is trying to reach consensus on possible solutions,” Prof. Ariel concludes.