Dead satellites are filling space with trash. That could affect Earth ’s magnetic field | Sierra Solter

Our ozone is pennies thick – and soonwe ’ll put at least an Eiffel Tower’s worth of metallic ashinto the ionosphere every yearA dead spacecraft the size of a truck ignites with plasma and pulverizes into dust and litter as it rips through the ionosphere and atmosphere. This is what happens to internet service satellites during re-entry. When the full mega-constellation of satellites is deployed in the 2030s, companies will do this every hour because satellite internet requires thousands of satellites to constantly be replaced. And it could compromise our atmosphere or even our magnetosphere.Space entrepreneurs are betting on disposable satellites as key to a new means of wealth. There are currentlynearly 10,000 active satellites and companies are working as fast as possible to get tens of thousands more into orbit – for a projected1m in the next three to four decades.Sierra Solter is a plasma physicist, engineer, and inventor who studies the intersection of heliophysics and aerospaceContinue reading...

Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - April 16, 2024 Category: Science Authors: Sierra Solter Tags: Science Space Satellites Elon Musk Jeff Bezos Technology Source Type: news