Thread

Astronomer watches Starlink satellites sinking to build a 'planetary barometer'

67 points · 19 comments · whh

pclowes · 1790369708 · focus · HN ↗
Any solid citations for "and has pushed Low Earth Orbit to the brink of the Kessler Syndrome."?
I would be honestly intrigued but wary of just the usual Elon bad/good so all things he does bad/good narratives.
If we are on the brink of Kessler Syndrome in LEO I would expect market pricing to reflect that.
1. smallerize · 1790370161 · focus · HN ↗
  <a href="https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/09/there-are-now-17000-satellites-in-orbit-and-growing-should-we-be-concerned/" rel="nofollow">https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/09/there-are-now-17000-sa... "It does indeed start to look pretty dicey by mid-century."
  The report itself <a href="https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Space_Debris/ESA_Space_Environment_Report_2026" rel="nofollow">https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Space_Debris/ESA_Space_Envi...
  About pricing: <a href="https://www.satellitetoday.com/launch/2026/09/17/the-era-of-cheap-price-per-kilo-launch-is-over-launchers-say/" rel="nofollow">https://www.satellitetoday.com/launch/2026/09/17/the-era-of-...
  1. brandonagr2 · 1790370987 · focus · HN ↗
    If the report is predicting 100 years in the future, are we really "to the brink" now? Not to mention the decay time of these LEO is in months, hardly a kessler syndrome scenario.
    smallerize · 1790371583 · focus · HN ↗
    The report says we will be in trouble in 10-20 years, not 100. Look under "collisions causing collisions". Debris from previous collisions increases the risk of future collisions.
    drivingmenuts · 1790392091 · focus · HN ↗
    It probably doesn't matter. Global warming has proven that we are incapable of doing the necessary things to slow or stop the human-caused decaying of our planet. I'm starting to think we deserve what we're gonna get.

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