A new space race is beginning to take shape in rather alarming ways. We are referring to the thousands of communications satellites that many private companies plan to launch into Earth orbit in the coming years. Some releases that at first might sound insignificant, but that, put into perspective, are more scary than you might imagine.
Connect the world at any cost
The idea of ​​many companies like SpaceX, Amazon y OneWeb is to launch a large number of satellites into space that allow the creation of a mesh network that surrounds the Earth to enjoy high-speed communications. Plans are for these networks to be up and running in about 10 years, so we wouldn't have to wait too long to see this new global communication structure.
Knowing that this will allow communications in every corner of the world without limits, what's wrong with deploying a global network that allows instant communication with any part of the world? The fault lies with a number: 57.000.
That will be the number of satellites that are planned to be in orbit for the next 2029. Taking into account that we are in the middle of 2020, that 2029 should not sound too distant or futuristic to you at this point (yes, it still seems so), so that deployment is imminent. To give you an idea, 57.000 satellites is 25 times the number of spacecraft currently orbiting the Earth, but if you want something that makes you see things clearly, you better take a look at the following representation in video.
a space junkyard
The video was presented by Dan Oltrogge at the Federal Aviation Administration's 23rd Annual Commercial Space Transportation Conference, with the idea of ​​raising awareness of the problem that could be upon us. Two days before the presentation, two satellites nearly collided in space due to an error, something that could have caused thousands of space debris.
According to Kevin O`Connell, director of the Office of Space Commerce, these types of failures and unforeseen events occur with a certain frequency, so Oltrogge's video does nothing more than warn us of what we could have in a few years.
There are many, but the situation is under control
To give you an idea, SpaceX plans to launch 12.000 satellites with its StarLink program, to which thousands more from OneWeb, Iridum and Amazon's Kuiper project should be added. This would increase the number of satellites massively, however it seems that all is not lost.
Oltrogge himself assures that in the Earth's orbit there is room for many satellites, and the most interesting thing is that models are being developed that allow their disintegration when they stop serving, so that the number would decrease and they would not accumulate in the form of garbage space.
There is no doubt that the challenge of managing space exists, so the next few years will be crucial in determining