How many satellites

As satellites eventually fall out of orbit and reenter Earth's atmosphere, they also release chemicals into the atmosphere, Boley said. Boley's study into megaconstellations revealed that, in the future, satellite reentries could end up depositing more of certain elements, such as aluminum , into Earth's atmosphere than meteorites do.

Scientists are unsure what the potential impacts of this could be, but human-caused changes to the atmospheres' chemistry , such as the release of chlorofluorocarbons CFCs from aerosols that caused the hole in the ozone layer, do not tend to end well.

Moreover, as satellites reenter the atmosphere, they can also cause significant damage on the ground. However, modern satellites are designed to break up into smaller pieces upon reentry, so less material makes it to the surface. Related: What would happen if you shot a gun in space?

In the future, increased satellite activity will be clearly visible from Earth. The metal objects will act like mirrors, reflecting light back toward the Earth's surface, and the sheer number of them will drastically alter our view of the night sky.

The study also found that places near 50 degrees north and south latitude, like British Columbia and Patagonia, could be more severely impacted by satellite light pollution than other locations, due to the orbits of proposed satellites. In the future, Boley said, as many as 1 in every 10 "stars" in the sky could actually be satellites, which would "continuously cause the heavens to be rearranged.

The satellites won't interfere only with amateur stargazing but also professional astronomers' observations. First, it has never been easier to get a satellite into space. For example, on Aug. On Oct. The second reason is that rockets can carry more satellites more easily — and cheaply — than ever before. Rather, satellites have gotten smaller thanks to the electronics revolution.

The majority of these satellites are used for observing Earth or for communications and internet. With a goal of bringing the internet to underserved areas of the globe, two private companies, Starlink by SpaceX and OneWeb together launched almost 1, smallsats in alone. With the huge growth in satellites, fears of a crowded sky are starting to come true. A day after SpaceX launched its first 60 Starlink satellites, astronomers began to see them blocking out the stars.

Other statistics on the topic. Aviation Number of satellites launched by year Aviation Government space program spending of the leading countries in the world Research expert covering mobility and logistics.

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Satellite megaconstellations are planned by other companies as well, which are a matter of concern for scientists. As per a paper published in Nature , scientists believe that the satellite megaconstellations could cause disruptions to radio frequencies used for astronomical observations, create bright streaks in the night sky.

The increased congestion in the orbit may also lead to collisions. While many potential problems which can be caused by sending such a huge number of satellites to space are still being studied, space debris remains one of the biggest threats. According to a report by the European Space Agency , our current behaviour in space is not sustainable. Space junk can not only hamper future missions, but can also cause serious threats to astronauts aboard space stations.