Starlink & Co.: Growing amount of space debris will soon change the atmosphere
In as little as 15 years, burning satellites could cause the outermost layer of the atmosphere to warm up noticeably. Further consequences are possible.
Rocket launches also release potentially harmful aluminum oxide into the atmosphere
(Image: jennnifer/Shutterstock.com)
The growing number of satellites in low Earth orbit could soon ensure that when they burn up in the atmosphere, enough aluminum oxide is released to cause measurable changes. This is what a research team from the USA has found out, and it also provides figures. If more than 60,000 satellites are actually in low Earth orbit (LEO) by 2040, they could leave up to 10,000 tons of aluminium oxide in the atmosphere when they burn up – per year due to their shorter life expectancy. According to the team, this could warm the highest layer of the atmosphere by 1.5 degrees Celsius and affect the ozone layer. More research is urgently needed.
Even more research needed
In as little as 15 years, the rapidly advancing construction of mega-constellations consisting of thousands or even tens of thousands of satellites could therefore ensure that wind speeds in the upper atmosphere fall, the team continues. Although this could help to shrink the hole in the ozone layer, the exact consequences of so much additional aluminum oxide in the atmosphere are unclear. The exact consequences also depend on the amount of material that remains in the atmosphere after burning up. However, it seems clear that the massive increase in the number of satellites in low orbit will have consequences for complex interactions in the atmosphere in just a few years, as they burn up much faster than those orbiting higher up.
Videos by heise
Also, because the construction of the mega-constellations only began a few years ago, there is little knowledge about the consequences. After the US space company SpaceX began launching large numbers of Starlink satellites into space, there were initially warnings about the consequences for astronomy. However, concerns about the atmosphere considering the satellites crashing much faster are nothing new. Just a year ago, it was reported that the constellations could jeopardize the recovery of the ozone layer. The study now presented in the specialist journal JGR Atmospheres seems to contradict this, but above all makes it clear how little we still know about the consequences. Amazon is now also setting up a mega-constellation.
(mho)
