NASA has written a letter to the US federal government expressing concern about the second-generation Starlink mega-constellation of 30,000 satellites that SpaceX is preparing to launch. In a five-page letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), NASA says SpaceX’s plans to fill the sky with thousands of Starlink satellites could result in a significant increase in potential collisions on low-Earth. It also talks about the possibility of posing an obstacle to scientific studies and manned space flight missions.
NASA says that if this plan happens, it will double the number of tracked objects orbiting the Earth, and five times the number of objects below 600 kilometers altitude. This figure greatly increases the probability of an accident.
NASA’s warning letter comes a week after SpaceX launched 49 satellites, a day after a geomagnetic storm hit Earth and destroyed 40 of them.
Beyond the problem of satellite congestion, astronomers, astrophotographers and satellite operators voicing concerns about Starlink’s satellite constellation say it will hinder their ability to observe and photograph when thousands of satellites fill the sky.
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