SpaceX announced a change in the design of Starlink satellites so that they completely burned in the atmosphere when they fell

In December, an article was published on Habré devoted to the analysis of the issue of the safety of thousands of satellites in low Earth orbit . This is a global satellite network from SpaceX, which she plans to create through a host of Starlink satellites.

And there will be a lot of satellites. Ilon Musk plans to launch about 12,000 satellites into low orbit, which will eventually pass through half of the global Internet traffic. To ensure fast communication and wide channel, satellites are equipped with laser installations and specific radio modules. All this is done in order to provide the planet with Internet connection, including the most remote and hard-to-reach regions.

The Federal Communications Commission (US) believes that a large number of satellites represent a certain danger to the inhabitants of the planet. The service life of satellites - a few years, after which they will begin to fall to Earth. And there is no guarantee that the entire satellite will burn in the atmosphere. Falling debris can hit people and buildings.
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According to experts, the mass of unburned remnants of one satellite can reach several kilograms. If such a fragment falls into a person, then the death is beyond doubt. In the event of a fall on the building there may be significant damage (of course, depending on where such a man-made meteorite falls).

According to NASA, each piece of the 17,400 has a chance to kill a person. However, it is still below the security threshold, which is set by the agency (1: 10,000). Nevertheless, the FCC experts considered that, on average, five satellites would fall on Earth a day six years after the launch of the entire network. The likelihood that a piece of someone will kill someone is 45% for every 6 years.

In order to reduce the likelihood of damage caused by the fall of the satellite, SpaceX decided to change the design of the device. The changes are that now there are no massive metal components in the satellites that could not completely burn and reach the surface of the planet. "None of the components of the satellites will not be able to withstand entry into the atmosphere, so the probability of causing damage is zero," SpaceX reported.

Last month, the FCC asked SpaceX to clarify whether the satellites would fall over the oceans, far from cities. The organization also asked Ilona Mask to provide additional research results on the issue of satellite falling.

Well, SpaceX said that now the place of the fall of the satellite does not matter, because they all have to burn when approaching the surface of the planet. “After intensive research and additional investments SpaceX has developed a system architecture that will ensure the destruction of the satellite in the fall,” the company said .

True, the first 75 satellites will still have the old architecture, which provides for the presence of metal accelerators. They can well withstand a fall in the atmosphere. But all the "descendants" of these first devices will comply with the requirements of the FCC entirely. The company does not explain why the first satellites will have such a design. It may well be that they have already been built - in part or in full, so it’s too late to change anything.

According to experts, the statement of the "zero probability" of incidents in the fall of satellites must be proved. “In principle, I don’t know if there is any risk of zero risk at all,” Raymond Sedwick, a specialist in space debris, comments on the situation.

Another expert, John Krassidis of the University of Buffalo, says replacing iron, steel, and titanium with materials like aluminum can actually significantly reduce the likelihood of satellite fragments in a person or a building. But there is no guarantee that some parts will not reach the Earth. It is only a matter of time and a suitable angle of entry into the atmosphere.