Astronomers say the proliferation of the bright metallic satellites could seriously degrade the night view, interfering with both optical and radio astronomy.
But SpaceX argues it has taken steps to reduce the satellites' reflectivity and is testing an experimental darkening treatment on one of the satellites."SpaceX has not yet eased the minds of astronomers concerned about the reflectivity of their Starlink satellites," she told AFP.
"The real test will be the days following launch when the smallsats are close together and in a lower altitude before ascending to their final orbit. Astronomers and stargazers will be able to compare the brightness of this current batch of smallsats compared to previous versions." Another criticism of more crowded skies is it will result in expensive collisions between satellites, potentially creating thousands of pieces of new space junk.
SpaceX says it has a plan for that, too: its Starlink satellites deploy at an altitude of 290 kilometers and then engage their ion thrusters to reach an orbit of 550 kilometers . At the end of their life-cycles, the satellites will use their propulsion systems to de-orbit over the course of a few months -- or if these fail, they will burn up naturally in the atmosphere in under five years, compared to the thousands of years required at higher altitudes.
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