I didn’t realize they were running two sets of this argument in here. For what it’s worth, you’re right. An orbital impact ejection in low earth orbit creates an eccentric orbit where the debris skims even lower in the atmosphere than it would have in a circular orbit, dragging it out of the sky far faster than it would have otherwise. And while the debris could hit a satellite in a higher and therefore more problematic orbit, it’s so wildly unlikely that it’s not meaningful to consider.

Anyway, I’m pretty sure they blocked me, so I figured I’d send a distant affirmation of support.

Right. I’ll note, that your linked article says nothing about Kessler beyond a quote of his saying that space debris would continue to increase even if all launches stopped. Otherwise, the article mainly comments that the sheer number of Starlink satellites below the ISS could interfere with launch/entry opportunities while drastically increasing the number of space objects being tracked by the DoD and NASA.

There are plenty of legitimate reasons to criticize Starlink, all I’m pointing out is that Kessler Syndrome is not one of them. I’m assuming you’ve somewhat ironically blocked me, but since we’re exchanging links, here is an article that interviews several scientists including one that worked under Kessler at NASA and now works on NASA’s orbital debris modeling.

https://aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org/features/understanding-the-misunderstood-kessler-syndrome/

Really playing to your username, eh. I am familiar with Kessler Syndrome. You’ll note that the most important aspect of said event, is the height, at which objects orbit, as that determines how long it takes for it to deorbit. The level of risk declines precipitously the closer to the earth the orbit is, and even if there was a catastrophic cascade at the height Starlink orbits, it would clear after a few years at most.

Impact ejection can cause eccentric orbits, but at that height, those deorbit even faster.

Fortunately, the very clever scientists at NASA have long since determined that there is essentially no risk from Starlink and similar satellite constellations, because they’ve been paying attention to this since before I was born.

… Well, fortunately, I don’t manage satellite deployments, but your friends are welcome to tell NASA that their aerospace engineers are actually wrong and need to stop SpaceX before they ground humanity. I’m sure they would love to hear it.

Starlink satellites are in low earth orbit and deorbit naturally after a few years because of the small amounts of escaping atmosphere slowing them down. A collision cascade can’t really happen because it’s a fundamentally decaying orbit.

At least, there’s no risk of lasting orbital debris, at the cost of the satellites having a much shorter lifespan.

What? It’s literally the opposite. Do you remember the discovery that owning horses extends your lifespan by several years, not for any merit of its own, but because it strictly excludes the poor and most of the middle class?

The more money you have, the healthier you are, the longer you live, and the happier you tend to be. It’s straight propaganda that being rich is somehow a burden or requires people of exceptional mental strength to struggle on.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3139960/

One of the examples from your wiki source on the font is in Hong Kong. It’s literally just a calligraphy font using brush strokes, you don’t write in pinyin in Chinese, so the only place it’s used is to communicate east Asian calligraphy in Latin characters. The controversy is when it’s paired with racist portrayals, not that it’s racist in itself.

On the internet, people have to be more honest.

I… don’t think that’s how it works lol.