Starlink & Co. offenbar große und lang anhaltende Gefahr für die Ozonschicht
Die Zahl der Satelliten steigt rasant und das soll sich noch beschleunigen. Das könnte zu einer Gefahr für die Ozonschicht werden, warnt ein Forschungsteam.
BREAKING NEWS:
Space debris from SpaceX Dragon capsule crashed on a hiking trail in North Carolina mountains.
...
I guess this is to be expected.
I guess we're all OK with this now.
Until a Starlink satellite deorbits into a Senator's house or SpaceX launch debris falls into Mar-a-Lago, NYC, or Washington, DC, Americans won't care or do anything about this.
Today's story: Why Your Wi-Fi Router Doubles as an Apple AirTag
Apple and the satellite-based broadband service Starlink each recently took steps to address new research into the potential security and privacy implications of how their services geo-locate devices. Researchers from the University of Maryland say they relied on publicly available data from Apple to track the location of billions of devices globally -- including non-Apple devices like Starlink systems -- and found they could use this data to monitor the destruction of Gaza, as well as the movements and in many cases identities of Russian and Ukrainian troops.
I submitted a comment to the FCC regarding my disapproval of direct-to-cell satellites. Please consider adding your voice to help preserve the night sky and the sensitive environments of Earth’s upper atmosphere and low-Earth orbit. You can find specific details on what you can do at https://www.kesslerrebellion.com/take-action. The FCC is open to taking comments from individuals around the world, not just in the USA.
"#SpaceX satellites threaten to hide asteroids that pose danger to humanity
The International Astronomical Union demands that urgent action be taken against the uncontrolled proliferation of these devices. #Starlink satellites make it difficult to search for objects at risk of impacting the Earth"
"We are witnessing a historic process -- Russians are leaving for the first time in two centuries," independent Azerbaijani analyst Elhan Shahinoglu told AFP.
#Pentagon officials working with #ElonMusk’s #SpaceX have blunted the Russian military’s unauthorized use of #Starlink internet terminals on the battlefield in its war with #Ukraine, according to the Defense Department’s space policy chief.
Ukrainian front-line troops say they are experiencing connection problems with the vital Starlink internet service, owned by Elon Musk and used to run Kyiv’s fleet of attack drones, while also reporting an increase in Russian use of the devices, despite this being prohibited by US sanctions.
A Bloomberg News investigation identified wide-spanning examples of Starlink kits being traded and activated illegally. How they are smuggled and the sheer availability of Starlink on the black market suggests that its misuse is a systemic global problem, raising questions about the company’s control of a system with clear national security dimensions.
#Starlink is sold on the black market around the world, #Bloomberg reports. The availability of the terminals on the black market is a systematic global problem.
Ukr intelligence claimed that the Russians are using Starlink on the front lines. They are probably buying Starlink terminals in Arab countries.
Spacex is building a network of hundreds of spy satellites under a #classified contract w/a US intelligence agency, 5 sources familiar w/the program said, demonstrating deepening ties between billionaire entrepreneur #ElonMusk's space company & #NationalSecurity agencies.
If successful, the sources said the program would significantly advance the ability of the #UnitedStates government & #military to quickly spot potential targets almost anywhere on the globe.
The contract signals growing trust by the #intelligence establishment of a company whose owner has clashed w/the #Biden admin and sparked controversy over the use of #Starlink#satellite connectivity in the Ukraine war, the sources said.
So excited/humbled to have #ESA and my partner institutes in #Oslo this week to discuss #CIMR LEVEL-2 products!
#CIMR is an upcoming #Sentinel satellite that will help us monitor the #Earth and its #Climate in the polar regions.
We are at the start of an exciting 4-year activity, the #L2PAD, to prepare #OpenSource algorithms and products for this satellite. Can't wait to meet the team, it will be the first time I meet some of them in person.
@lavergnetho
That's exciting! May they be nice to you and offer delicious cookies!
If I may be so bold, I have a few questions wrt satellite use.
Is #Sentinel#CIMR going to be a dedicated satellite or does the device go piggy-back on another?
When new measurement devices are introduced, is it part of the plan to later consolidate satellite use, ie put more and more devices on a single sat where compatible, once the first of their carriers get de-orbited and replaced?
What is the weight & life expectancy of the new CIMR #satellite and what is its decommissioning procedure – burn up or shoot outside Earth's orbit?
You probably guessed it: my questions relate to #sustainability in general, to space debris, and most of all: the impact of burnt-up satellite material on chemistry and climate.
An institution like #ESA can set the tone so rogue, unregulated actors like #Starlink might soon be reigned-in before their bad biz plan lets 27t of satellite material burn up – every single day!
Thank you Prof. Lawler for your tireless work to put the horrendous issues associated with Starlink in front of the public. While we are on the subject we should also discuss the Kessler Syndrome.
Some evening not too long from now you may look up, and instead of the stars and the ubiquitous Starlink satellite trains marching along, you might see a night sky filled with brilliant sparkles. What's happened?
Well in their infinite stupidity the US government has granted Elon Musk's SpaceX permission to launch thousands of Starlink satellites into low earth orbit (LEO). These things are wizzing around up there trying to avoid crashing into one another, and with each new batch that becomes harder. Plus now the Chinese and Amazon are sending up their own satellite constellations. It's a massive traffic problem.
Kind of like airline traffic, only infinitely worse. If planes collide, the wreckage just falls to the ground. In space, one triggering event, either an accident or some intentional anti-satellite action and, like a room full of mousetraps and ping-pong balls, you get a cascading series of collisions which can take out everything leaving an unnavigable debris field for decades. And humanity is screwed. That's what we are playing with here.
If this thread has sparked your interest in the subject of Starlink space pollution. Here is a great article derived from an interview with Prof. Lawler:
Perhaps the greatest threat is for a Kessler Syndrome event, wherein these terrible little satellites, lose control and start smashing into each other, creating a cascade of destruction that closes off space for generations.
@amgine@mastodonmigration From ~500km, you're look at around 10 years for orbital decay to drag them down, and during that time if they knock out something else, that will start it's own decent journey, so things quickly get exponential.
Longer term the real concern that really hasn't been addressed is the atmospheric pollution caused both by launch engines themselves (which are absolutely filthy and wildly resource intensive) and by the burning up of debris both in launch and disposal. There are large quantities of metals, plastics and propellents being burned in a completely uncontrolled manner in the upper atmosphere, at quantities which are already having a measurable impact on the atmosphere itself. The more junk Elmo yeets to orbit, the worse this is getting, and there is zero long-term plan for managing any of this - indeed, the plan such as it exists at all is explicitly to use our atmosphere as completely unfiltered, uncontrolled incinerator.
The fun doesn't stop there as the ISS operates around 400km, below the Elon Zone, so all the shit he creates will impact on the ISS, as well as the numerous other essential missions that need lower orbits.
Funny find of the day:
SpaceX photoshopped an image of their Starlink satellites in space for a press release.
It's a composite of their satellites sitting in the cleanroom and a photograph of Earth taken by Matthias Maurer from the ISS.