SpaceX’s growing Starlink megaconstellation could be hindering the Earth’s atmosphere from healing itself.
In a new study, researchers from the University of Southern California estimated the harmful effects from satellites injecting harmful pollutants such as aluminum oxides into the upper atmosphere as they burn up during reentry.
These dying satellites may even be contributing to “significant ozone depletion,” according to the researchers. The ozone layer is the Earth’s “sunscreen” that shields us from too much UV radiation from the Sun.
While researchers have largely focused on the pollutants being released by rockets as they launch, we’ve only begun to understand the implications of having thousands of retired and malfunctioning satellites burn up in the atmosphere.
And that’s only becoming more relevant, as SpaceX has already launched almost 6,000 Starlink satellites to date, and is planning to add tens of thousands more — orbital ambitions that are now inspiring competing satellite constellations.
“Only in recent years have people started to think this might become a problem,” said coauthor and University of Southern California astronautics researcher Joseph Wang in a statement. “We were one of the first teams to look at what the implication of these facts might be.”
#Poking Holes
Since it’s practically impossible to get accurate readings from the kind of pollutants satellites release as they scream back through the atmosphere, scientists can only estimate their effects on the surrounding environment.
By studying how common metals used in the construction of satellites interact with each other, the team estimated that the presence of aluminum increased in the atmosphere by almost 30 percent in 2022 alone.
They found that a 550-pound satellite generates roughly 66 pounds of aluminum oxide nanoparticles during reentry, which would take up to 30 years to drift down into the stratosphere.
In total, if constellations from the likes of SpaceX continue to grow as planned, the levels of aluminum oxides in the atmosphere could increase by a staggering 646 percent over natural levels every year.
And that doesn’t bode well, considering we’ve only begun to study the phenomenon.
“The environmental impacts from the reentry of satellites are currently poorly understood,” the researchers note in their paper. “As reentry rates increase, it is crucial to further explore the concerns highlighted in this study.”
Billionaires stop being an existential threat to all life on earth challenge: impossible.
Bro his stupid dumbass company is not even profitable but we still have to get skin cancer because of it
His soul should declare apartheid with his mortal vessel and fuckin die
Can someone make a bot that posts this picture any time a post is made and mentions “Elon” or “Musk”
Totally jokerfying.
We invented a new way to give you internet but this time it does global warming and gives you skin cancer
But hey….it’s Eeeeevil internet! So edgy! Now you can own the libs even when you’re browsing /pol/ with your fellow le epic trolls!
Probably a lot more than just skin cancer
I truly hate that man.
Elon they could never make me like you
If there’s one elon hater left alive, I am him.
If there’s no elon haters left, I am dead.
A 30% increase in one year seems like a lot.
That’s because it is a lot! But don’t worry, it only takes 33 years to cycle out of the atmosphere! So by 2057 we will have gotten rid of the satellites that burned up today!
We need to end the space program!
We need to end billionaire vanity projects
We need to end billionaires
Fact
hey remember that period of like five or so years when the ozone layer was actually all repaired and normal? that was nice, dunno what r/upliftingnews is gonna post about now
They’ll call it uplifting again when atmospheric aluminum levels return to normal in only thirty three years from now!
it was growing back for once since like 2016 but nooo he just HAD to fuck it up didnt he
The myth of consensual ozone repair:
🙋 I consent!
🙋♀️ I consent!
I don’tIsn’t there somebody you forgot to ask?
There’s an advert sign for Starlink down the road I’ve been meaning to take down. This inspired me to go do it. Maybe I’ll do it now while it’s dark-ish.
Thank you for your service
I fucking hate this bazinga brained “throw precaution (and/or regulations) to the wind” bullshit. I know that’s like the SV MO but it makes me really just want to go out and do something really cool.
“Oh yeah let’s just send thousands of new satellites up every year and every 5 years we’ll let them burn up upon reentry and send up more!” 
Another thing, and I know these techbrained libertarian types don’t understand this, is that even if you accept this is something that humanity needs, you certainly don’t need companies competing by each running their own satellite arrays. This is a natural monopoly to end all natural monopolies.
it would be crazy if this piece of shit destroys humanity single handedly
The Thomas Midgley Jr of our generation
someone needs to inspire Musk to build a hospital bed with a couple of industrial robot Cyber arms for accommodation and cyber care
if we also get him to test it on himself, I’m sure we can get this midgley to midgley himself in half
deleted by creator
Real
I know they don’t care but fuck these neoliberal managers. Nothing’s free fuckos! Cost under capitalism can (apparently only kind of) represent here and now plus gradr but not account for any of the significant long term costs or ramifications of anything we’re doing. Shitty system, what the fuck is wrong with people.
Capitalists be like wow I love destroying the commons!
They found that a 550-pound satellite generates roughly 66 pounds of aluminum oxide nanoparticles during reentry, which would take up to 30 years to drift down into the stratosphere.
The just replace the aluminum with zinc. If zinc oxide is good enough in sunscreen its good enough for the ozone.
