With the Starlink project, SpaceX has planned the installation of 42,000 mini-satellites in Earth orbit to bring high-speed Internet to the entire world.
The proliferation of satellites could prevent astronomers from observing the universe in peace and cause chain collisions.
NASA recently warned about asteroids: the agency is worried that it can no longer fulfill its watchdog role, its vision being blurred by the increase in the number of objects in orbit.
Billionaire Elon Musk's Starlink project continues to arouse tensions and fears.
On Tuesday, NASA was alarmed by the consequences of the deployment of tens of thousands of satellites on the observation of asteroids.
Putting them into orbit risks causing security problems and raises questions about this new space race spearheaded by billionaires.
20 minutes
looked at these issues.
What exactly is Starlink?
Starlink is a project of SpaceX, the company of billionaire Elon Musk, which consists of putting 42,000 mini telecommunications satellites into orbit, twenty times more than the number of satellites counted above our heads in 2019. SpaceX has already placed more of 2,000 satellites of this type around the Earth.
“We are polluting space and threatening research for a faster Internet by a few tens of milliseconds.
Do we really need this?
asks Mathilde Gaudel, doctor in astrophysics.
Because the project concentrates many grievances.
What is the problem in this constellation of satellites?
As early as June 2019, the International Astrophysical Union (IAU) was alarmed by these constellations of satellites which could threaten "our understanding of the universe".
Several dangers surround this pharaonic project, starting with the impact it could have on the observation of space.
“Starlink satellites are very visible, especially at sunset or sunrise because the panels reflect sunlight,” explains Mathilde Gaudel.
With the resurgence of these satellites, there is more and more chance that one of these objects passes in front of the objective and makes the image "unusable", especially since the distant objects are darker and therefore require, as in photography, a long exposure time to be correctly observed.
On Monday, NASA expressed concern about its ability to spot asteroids, some of which may be dangerous to Earth.
"SpaceX's Gen2 expansion would more than double the number of objects tracked in orbit and multiply by five the number of objects within 600 km", underlines the instance.
NASA estimates that SpaceX's plan for 30,000 satellites would put "a Starlink in every single asteroid survey image taken for planetary defense against hazardous asteroid impacts, decreasing asteroid survey effectiveness."
— Michael Sheetz (@thesheetztweetz) February 9, 2022
However, space is already very polluted: more than 23,200 objects larger than ten centimeters are in orbit today, a number that could increase exponentially with the arrival of these thousands of satellites.
Last November, a mechanical engineering researcher at the University of Utah warned: the Earth could be endowed with rings like Saturn.
Rings made of space debris.
A traffic jam which could, in the long term, hinder manned flights or cause serial collisions.
“In the event of collisions, the debris is thrown at a very high speed.
Ten centimeters may not seem like much, but in space it can create big problems, especially since an object never stops,” explains Mathilde Gaudel.
What to fear from a chain reaction, especially "that we do not know how to clean the space", recalls the researcher.
Our starry sky therefore risks seeing our waste accumulate for a long time to come.
Are we in a new space race for billionaires?
The challenges raised by Elon Musk's project are multiplied by the presence of a myriad of new players on the space market.
If during the Cold War, the space race was a political issue, it is now played out between billionaires.
Because SpaceX is not the only company with the ambition to colonize our orbit with its state-of-the-art toys: Amazon also plans to send 3,200 satellites and the company OneWeb, 648.
Today, “private companies capture the sky”, agrees Mathilde Gaudel.
A string of disproportionate projects have been born in recent years, notably carried out by SpaceX.
The Tesla leader's company also announced on Friday that the first orbital flight of its giant Starship rocket would take place "this year".
It should eventually be used for interplanetary travel.
A goal today “utopian”, recalls the researcher in astrophysics who adds that the scientific community is not yet able to bring back astronauts who would have been sent to Mars.
Our file on SpaceX
But this “private momentum” towards infinity and the beyond is, for the moment, not supervised.
There is no law that governs the occupation of heaven.
According to the Outer Space Treaty, signed in 1967 by a hundred States, the exploration and use of space are "the prerogative of all humanity" .
Enough to authorize multinationals to transform our skies into a sandbox for billionaires, despite the concerns of the scientific world.
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