More than 10,000 satellites are active in orbit

A milestone was recently reached on the space scene around the Earth. Last June, we passed the mark of 10,000 active satellites in orbit. The company Look Up Space, which develops and maintains a worldwide network of radars for detecting and tracking objects in Earth orbit, counted exactly 10,019 active satellites, two thirds of which (6,646) belong to SpaceX’s Starlink constellation. Most (9,254) of these satellites are in low orbits, mainly between 400 and 1,200 kilometres above the Earth’s surface.

In addition, around 3,200 rocket stages and 13,326 fragments in orbit around the Earth have been identified. This represents only a small fraction of the debris currently missing, which must be in the region of one million pieces measuring one centimetre or more. According to Look Up Space, its Synapse data platform detects daily risks of almost a thousand collisions with odds greater than one in a million and in the range of 50 and 100 collisions with odds greater than one in 100 thousand.

Chinese constellation

To add to the tally, at the beginning of August the first satellites of China’s G60 Starlink megaconstellation will be launched, with more than 12,000 units planned, according to the Shanghai Securities News website. The mission scheduled for 5 August is expected to carry 18 satellites, and the launch vehicle should be the Long March 6A due to its characteristics, although the information has not yet been confirmed.

The G60 Starlink constellation is managed by Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology (SSST) and aims to provide global Internet access, in contrast to US projects, including SpaceX’s Starlink. Last February, SSST announced that it had received a contribution of US$933 million to manufacture the constellation.

According to the EurasianTimes website, the initial plans for the G60 project were to develop not so much a constellation as a cluster of Internet satellites, i.e. a group of satellites collaborating in a space region to carry out various missions. The name G60 derives from the expressway of the same name that runs through several cities in the Yangtze River Delta region.

A further 108 G60 Starlink satellites are expected to be launched in 2024, in five more batches of 18 units.

Another Chinese megaconstellation is under development, but with no satellite launched yet. The Guo Wang project was established in 2021, is led by the SatNet company and is also seen as another Chinese response to SpaceX’s Starlink. The constellation is expected to add up to 13,000 satellites.

Concern in the air We can say that, for some years now, the deployment of satellite megaconstellations, such as SpaceX’s Starlink and Chinese competitors, as well as smaller ongoing projects, have been growing hand in hand with the concerns of the scientific community and other groups.

Among astronomers, for example, the concerns are related to the dazzling effect and space pollution caused by the presence of satellites in low Earth orbit that contaminate astronomical observations.

Spaceflight safety experts also warn of the risk of collisions in Earth orbit due to megaconstellations. In addition, some scientists fear that the volume of metal burnt when satellites are de-orbited at the end of their useful life could lead to unpredictable changes in the planet’s climate and magnetic field.

Another concern is the lack of international guidelines on the impacts of objects placed in orbit by human activities, which increases the uncertainties surrounding megaconstellations of satellites.

For example, there was an incident last year that caused controversy around this issue, in particular related to the risks of debris falling from satellites. In October 2023, SpaceX, responsible for the largest satellite constellation currently in operation, asked the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to correct a report sent to Congress warning that, by 2035, falling satellite debris in low Earth orbit could injure or kill someone every two years if the constellations were deployed as planned. The argument behind SpaceX’s request was that the report was based on “deeply flawed analyses” based on assumptions and outdated studies.