SpaceX Will Deorbit 100 Flawed Starlink Satellites

SpaceX has announced it found a defect in some of its early Starlink satellites. With other communication satellites, attempts might be made to rectify the issue or simply ride it out until the issue causes a failure. Not SpaceX, though. The highly distributed nature of Starlink means SpaceX can just get rid of 100 potentially screwy satellites, and that’s what it’s going to do.
Elon Musk’s aerospace firm will deorbit the 100 problematic satellites instead of waiting for them to fail. According to SpaceX, its satellites are “demisable by design,” so the plan to plunge them into the atmosphere has no risk of injury or damage on the ground. SpaceX has launched more than 6,000 Starlink satellites in the last several years, and about 5,400 of them are still online. That includes the 100 now marked for death, but the loss of such a small proportion should not impact speeds or coverage.
The company hasn’t explained what exactly is wrong with the satellites, saying only that the flaw in these early satellites increases the likelihood of system failures in the future. Despite the low risk, SpaceX says it will share future positions and uncertainties for the satellites as it lowers their orbits for reentry. In the event that the adjusted orbits intersect with that of another object, SpaceX will take responsibility for adjusting course to avoid collision. So, the critical error is presumably not in the propulsion system.
The announcement (PDF) was made as part of an update on SpaceX’s focus on “Space Sustainability,” something the company has been accused of ignoring as it raced to deploy thousands of satellites. The rapid rise of SpaceX’s network has resulted in astronomy photobombs and several near collisions in orbit. The latest Starlink satellites have an autonomous collision avoidance system, and NASA rolled out new traffic control measures agreed to with SpaceX.
Losing 100 satellites will hardly put a dent in Starlink. The Falcon 9 can add up to 60 new satellites with a single launch, and more powerful Starlink V2 satellites are on the horizon. The proper V2 satellites require Starship, which is still being developed. In the meantime, SpaceX has started launching Mini V2 spacecraft with the Falcon 9. They’re not as capable as the full-scale V2s, but they’re an improvement over the busted old first-gen satellites that are about to get the ax.
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