Space Waste Problems Increase Due To Starlink Launch

Illustration of space junk (photo: dock. NASA JPL)

JAKARTA - Waste in space is increasingly worrying because the number continues to grow. Every year, space agencies from various parts of the world report an increase in the number of debris.

Many factors have boosted this amount of debris, one of which is the increasingly massive launch of the Starlink satellite. SpaceX, Elon Musk's space company, wants to become the leading satellite internet service provider worldwide.

The company wants to provide the best internet connection in remote areas or even difficult to reach. With this ambitious goal, SpaceX has successfully launched 6,994 satellites to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and the number will continue to grow.

There have been many studies showing that the deployment of Starlink satellites can worsen space debris. The latest study by researchers at the University of British Columbia further strengthens this potential danger.

After observing aviation data worldwide, researchers at the university said that the risk of increasing space debris was largely driven by the deployment of mass satellites. Currently, the largest number of satellite distributors is SpaceX.

The more satellites or rockets are delivered into orbit, accompanied by increasingly massive aircraft launches, the greater the chance of collisions in space. The impact of these collisions varies, but could affect Earth, other spacecraft, or even astronauts.

"More than 2,300 rocket bodies are already in orbit and will eventually de-orbit uncontrollably," the researchers wrote in a study paper, quoted from Sciencealert. "Aerial authorities will face de-orbit challenges without control over the coming decades."

This problem needs to be considered because small and large debris has the same risk. The smallest debris from a burning rocket or satellite can make a manned plane fall. In fact, one gram of debris can damage the windshield and aircraft engine.

Researchers say there is a solution: those who place objects in the sky can invest in rockets that can reenter the atmosphere. Even though the technology for this already exists, less than 35 percent of launches are currently taking advantage of it, so the aviation industry bears the safety burden.