Elon Musk’s company, SpaceX, is in trouble as a large number of Starlink satellites are destroying and returning to Earth’s atmosphere.
According to media reports in January 2025 alone, over 120 satellites were seen falling back to Earth, creating fireballs in the sky.
Space experts say that these destroying satellites are also posing threats to environment chemical ratio, causing serious concerns.
According to astronomer Jonathan McDowell, Starlink satellites re-entry has seen a sharp rise in the recent year. “Approximately four to five satellites retiring and burning up in Earth’s atmosphere every day”, McDowell said.
These incidents are primarily due to the mass retirement of Starlink’s first-generation (Gen1) satellites, which are being decommissioned to make way for SpaceX’s newer models.
Of the nearly 4,700 Gen1 satellites, 500 have already reached the end of their lifespan, and many more are being rapidly deorbited.
Each Gen1 satellite’s re-entry produces approximately 30 kilograms of aluminum oxide, which is known to harm the ozone layer.
However, SpaceX claims that its satellites completely burn up without leaving significant debris, posing no direct threat to public safety.
Over these escalating satellite burning issues experts emphasize the need for further research to dig out the reason behind these satellite collapses.
Researchers are also figuring out the strategies to manage this space debris and the environmental impacts of these re-entries are also on the first list.
