SpaceX is attacking an FAA report for claiming Starlink risks creating dangerous falling debris that could slam into the planet.
According to SpaceNews, the company sent a letter to the Department of Transportation on Monday, criticizing an FAA report sent to Congress about the potential hazards of disposing satellites from large constellations.
In SpaceX’s case, the company’s satellites are designed to completely burn up in our planet’s atmosphere once they’ve been set to retire. Still, the FAA report says it “would be worthwhile to definitively evaluate if any debris” from a SpaceX craft such as Starlink might survive atmospheric reentry.
If no debris survives reentry, then any disposed Starlink satellites should pose no risk, the FAA says. But if some debris does remain intact during atmosphere reentry, the agency says the plummeting Starlink fragments could pose a public danger.
“By 2035, if the expected large constellation growth is realized and debris from Starlink satellites survive reentry, the total number of hazardous fragments surviving reentries each year is expected to reach 28,000,” the report concludes. This could lead to one person being killed every two years or potentially more if the falling debris hits an aircraft, the FAA adds.
Although the agency’s risk assessment is theoretical, SpaceX is taking issue with how the FAA’s report could mislead Congress about Starlink, which currently spans over 4,800 active satellites.
“To be clear, SpaceX’s satellites are designed and built to fully demise during atmospheric reentry during disposal at end of life, and they do so,” the company wrote in the letter, which was posted by Ars Technica. “Extensive engineering analysis and real-world operational experience verify this basic fact,” the company added.
To develop its report to Congress, the FAA contracted a nonprofit called Aerospace Corporation to help it assess the risks of large satellite constellations. However, SpaceX claims Aerospace Corp. used a “flawed methodology” and old information from NASA to make its assessment. The nonprofit also apparently never reached out to SpaceX for more information about its satellites.
“Instead, Aerospace chose to base its evaluation on assumptions, guesswork and outdated studies relating to satellite constellations developed decades ago,” the company added. As a result, SpaceX is asking the FAA to correct its report to Congress.
In response, the FAA told PCMag it’s currently reviewing the SpaceX letter to the Department of Transportation.
SpaceX didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. But it's not the first time the company has defended Starlink from orbital hazard concerns. Last year, SpaceX did the same after NASA and rival companies questioned the size of Starlink, which could one day span over 30,000 satellites.
In the meantime, Aerospace Corp. told PCMag: "Aerospace was asked by the FAA more than two years ago to do an independent assessment of collective risks associated with satellite re-entry, based upon the projection of all planned operators under US regulation in 2021. The data included existing and planned constellations through 2035. The greatest percentage of satellites were those in Low Earth Orbit. Our technical team is in communication with SpaceX and others to review and update the data."