According to Michael Nichols, engineering VP, Starlink will lower the orbits of about 4,400 satellites this year as a safety measure. In a post on The move is intended to reduce the risk of collision, will place the satellites in an area that is less cluttered and will allow them to deorbit more quickly if an incident occurs.
“Reducing satellites condenses Starlink’s orbits, and in many ways will enhance space security,” Nichols wrote, adding that he also pointed to the coming solar minimum — a period in the Sun’s 11-year cycle when activity is low — as one of the reasons for the move. The next solar minimum is expected to occur in the early 2030s. “As solar minimum approaches, atmospheric density decreases, meaning that ballistic decay time at any altitude increases – being lower would mean an 80% reduction in ballistic decay time at solar minimum, or 4+ years reduced to a few months,” Nichols wrote.
The announcement comes just weeks after Starlink said one of its satellites had suffered an anomaly, causing some debris to wobble. Just a few days earlier, Nicholas had posted about a close interaction with a batch of satellites that he said were launched from China without any effort to coordinate with operators of existing satellites in space. With his latest announcement, Nicholls said Starlink’s downsizing of satellites will “further improve the security of the constellation, especially given risks such as uncoordinated maneuvers and launches by other satellite operators that are difficult to control.”
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