Actually… There is speculation whether the excessive numbers of satellites (e.g. the Starlink satellites) going into orbit currently will disturb the ozone layer upon re-entry in a couple of years.
I think we’re beyond speculation. It seems pretty solid to me that burning metals on re-entry will release harmful chemicals. Why it hadn’t been proposed before, I suppose just because it wasn’t happening on such a gargantuan scale. Fuck Lonnie.
Actually… There is speculation whether the excessive numbers of satellites (e.g. the Starlink satellites) going into orbit currently will disturb the ozone layer upon re-entry in a couple of years.
I knew Elon was going to end the world one way or another.
I think we’re beyond speculation. It seems pretty solid to me that burning metals on re-entry will release harmful chemicals. Why it hadn’t been proposed before, I suppose just because it wasn’t happening on such a gargantuan scale. Fuck Lonnie.
I doubt the mass of satellites is in any way comparable to the normal influx of meteors.
> An estimated 25 million meteoroids, micrometeoroids and other space debris enter Earth’s atmosphere each day,[9] which results in an estimated 15,000 tonnes of that material entering the atmosphere each year.
So 250 vs 15,000 tons per year, round up and it’s 2%. Another estimate said 40,000 tons. Satellites are definitely not a significant influence.