ELON Musk could “trap humanity on Earth” when he fires dozens of satellites into orbit tonight. That’s according to one space scientist, who says the eccentric billionaire’s plan could create an impenetrable wall of space junk around our planet. In total, 60 satellites are being launched as part of Starlink, a project to beam internet […]
ELON Musk could “trap humanity on Earth” when he fires dozens of satellites into orbit tonight.
That’s according to one space scientist, who says the eccentric billionaire’s plan could create an impenetrable wall of space junk around our planet.
In total, 60 satellites are being launched as part of Starlink, a project to beam internet to people from orbit fronted by Musk’s rocket company SpaceX.
Tonight’s flight is the first of at least 12 planned by SpaceX as it looks to set up a global constellation of hundreds of Wi-Fi satellites.
Now one scientist has warned that the resulting mass of space tech could turn the space around Earth into a minefield.
A catastrophic clutter of space debris left behind by the satellites could block rockets from leaving Earth, an effect known as “Kessler syndrome”.
“The worst case is: You launch all your satellites, you go bankrupt, and they all stay there,” European Space Agency scientist Dr Stijn Lemmens told Scientific American.
“Then you have thousands of new satellites without a plan of getting them out of there. And you would have a Kessler-type of syndrome.”
It will take thousands of years for any SpaceX satellites left in our orbit to descend to Earth and burn up in the atmosphere.
The firm says it’s already taken steps to avoid cluttering up the region. It’s launching the satellites into a lower orbital plane than most space tech to avoid collisions.
Even with such precautions, mega-constellations like Starlink will results in 67,000 potential collisions per year, another space scientist warned.
“This is something we need to pay attention to,” aerospace engineer Glenn Peterson told MIT Technology Review. “We have to be proactive.”
The Starlink satellites are tightly packed into the nose of one of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets, which is currently poised on a launchpad at Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
It’s scheduled to liftoff early Wednesday morning, sometime between 3:30am and 7:30am GMT.
At least 12 more such launches will be needed for “moderate” internet coverage.
Musk has previously said he plans to send up nearly 12,000 satellites by the mid-2020s.
If everything goes to plan for SpaceX then internet users across the world could have 40 times faster internet speeds no matter where they live.
How much this service will cost has not yet been revealed but Musk intends to keep prices low.
Last month Amazon revealed that it is planning to launch 3,236 satellites so they can provide fast internet to “un-served and un-derserved communities around the world.”
Satellites aren’t Musk’s only current focus – he recently revealed his creepy Neuralink project that will make you a genius by wiring your brain to a computer chip is ‘coming soon’.
And, if you’re wondering who will be first to make it back to the moon, here’s all you need to know about the Nasa, SpaceX, Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic Space race.
How do you think tonight’s launch will go? Let us know in the comments…
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368 . We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.
