SpaceX’s Starship Flight Test: A Launchpad for the Next Big Thing in Space
Despite the excitement surrounding SpaceX’s Starship program, few realize that the space industry has been in a frenzy of satellite launches for years. In 2023, a record-breaking 211 successful lift-offs were recorded, a figure expected to be surpassed in 2024. According to Stijn Lemmens, a space debris expert at the European Space Agency (ESA), “over the last decade, space activities have grown exponentially.”
Elon Musk’s Starlink megaconstellation, which provides internet from space, is largely responsible for this boom. Other players, such as Amazon, China, and the European Union, are also launching their own megaconstellations, leading to a proliferation of satellites in low-Earth orbit. In the past three years, more satellite launches have taken place than in the previous 60 years, with over 2,400 objects in 2023 alone.
The main concern surrounding this increased activity has been the risk of collision, but recently published scientific studies have highlighted a new and more insidious threat: the significant disruption of the upper atmosphere and the stratospheric ozone layer. The stratospheric ozone layer, which protects life on Earth by absorbing harmful ultraviolet rays, is still recovering from partial destruction caused by chlorofluorocarbon chemical emissions.
Despite efforts to maintain a clean low-Earth orbit, the space industry is now risking pollution and damage to the upper atmosphere. Regulators require satellites to be deorbited at the end of their life cycle, and as a result, operators allow these devices to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere, where they burn up partially or entirely. By 2023, around 700 satellites and 200 rocket upper stages had completed their journeys, setting the stage for the next big thing in space exploration.
