Get the latest tech news
SpaceX will de-orbit 100 Starlink satellites with unidentified flaw
SpaceX announced today that it will be sending some 100 Starlink satellites to an early retirement after a flaw was identified that could make them a
I’ve asked the company for further details and will update this post if I hear back, but based on the description and context, it seems likely that the “failure” in question would mean a loss of control. One of the criticisms of mega-constellations like Starlink is their potential to contribute to the space junk problem, and SpaceX doesn’t want to be the one people point at when the sky is full of broken satellites. The deorbit process will actually take about six months, during which they will also “take maneuver responsibility for any high-risk conjunctions,” meaning if they happen to cross paths with another satellites, the Starlink ones will politely move out of the way.
Or read this on TechCrunch
