Michael Sheetz Profile picture
Space Reporter @CNBC | send anonymous tips via Proton to spacetips@proton.me or Signal to +1 (201) 730-2511 | pitches michael.sheetz@nbcuni.com

Feb 23, 2022, 7 tweets

SpaceX published a lengthy post on the company's "approach to space sustainability and safety" on its website, specifically focused on recently raised concerns about putting up ~30,000 Starlink satellites in low Earth orbit:

spacex.com/updates/

"We have the capacity to build up to 45 satellites per week."

"The reliability of the satellite network is currently higher than 99% following the deployment of over 2,000 satellites, where only 1% have failed after orbit raising."

SpaceX believes the FCC/international standard of deorbiting a satellite after 25 years "is outdated and should be reduced," with Starlink satellites deorbiting within 5-6 years.

"SpaceX volunteered to provide routine system health reports to the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC"), something no other operator has ever offered or currently does"

"If there is a greater than 1/100,000 probability of collision (10x lower than the industry standard of 1/10,000) for a conjunction, satellites will plan avoidance maneuvers."

"China does not publish planned maneuvers, but we still make every effort to avoid their station with ISS-equivalent clearance based on publicly available ephemerides."

SpaceX's post comes soon after NASA and others raised concerns about Starlink Gen2

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