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SpaceX has requested the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to revise a report that raised concerns about potential risks associated with reentering components from its Starlink constellation satellites. The FAA had released a report titled “Risk Associated with Reentry Disposal of Satellites from Proposed Large Constellations in Low Earth Orbit” on October 5. According to the report, SpaceX’s Starlink satellites are projected to account for 85% of the risk to people on the ground and aviation resulting from reentering space debris by the mid-2030s.

The report highlighted that, by 2035, if the expected growth of large constellations materializes and debris from Starlink satellites survives reentry, it could lead to roughly 28,000 hazardous fragments surviving reentry each year. The report further stated an estimated casualty expectation of 0.6 individuals being injured or killed on the ground each year due to debris from satellite reentries.

Currently, there are approximately 5,000 operational Starlink satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO), making them a major presence in LEO. SpaceX plans to expand the Starlink constellation to include 12,000 satellites and even potentially grow to 40,000 spacecraft.

In response to the FAA report, SpaceX strongly disagreed, calling the claims of injury and death associated with Starlink “preposterous, unjustified, and inaccurate.” SpaceX’s letter argued that the analysis in the report, conducted partially by The Aerospace Corporation, was flawed and did not apply to Starlink satellites, as they fully burn up on reentry, unlike earlier satellites like the Iridium spacecraft mentioned in the report.

SpaceNews reported that astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell confirmed that over 350 Starlink satellites have already deorbited without any reports of debris reaching the ground. The FAA is currently reviewing SpaceX’s letter, and The Aerospace Corporation is in communication with SpaceX and others to reassess the data.

It is worth noting that SpaceX is not the only company planning and building large constellations in LEO. A recent report by the European Space Agency warned about the unsustainable behavior of humanity in space, particularly concerning space debris.

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