The worst case Starlink scenario? We could be ‘right on the edge’ of Kessler syndrome

By Chris Young,
Published by Interesting Engineering, 11 August 2022

And cleaning up the resulting space debris would be like ‘collecting bullets’.

SpaceX’s Starlink mega-constellation is growing at rocket speed.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk recently announced that the private space company expects “over 4,200 Starlink satellites in operation within 18 months”, constituting two-thirds of all active satellites. Roughly 2,300 Starlink satellites are currently in orbit, and SpaceX has approval for 30,000 more. 

Musk has often stated that his ultimate goal for SpaceX is to expand human consciousness by making humanity a spacefaring civilization — and that the profits of Starlink will go towards developing its Mars-bound Starship rocket…