{"id":931402,"date":"2026-05-01T20:25:26","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T20:25:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/931402\/"},"modified":"2026-05-01T20:25:26","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T20:25:26","slug":"satellites-could-start-smashing-into-each-other-in-less-than-three-days-study-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/931402\/","title":{"rendered":"Satellites Could Start Smashing into Each Other in Less Than Three Days, Study Finds"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"A<\/p>\n

They fly above us unseen \u2014 some are taking photos of outer space<\/a> \u2014 but the intense network of satellites that orbit Earth in perfect coordination could collapse in just a couple of days, according to a new study. <\/p>\n

Satellites in low-Earth orbit have increased exponentially in recent years<\/a>, largely thanks to SpaceX\u2019s Starlink program. In the 1970s, NASA proposed a doomsday scenario where collisions between satellites cascaded to the point that they blunt human activity in space. Known as Kessler Syndrome, it was based on multiple accidents causing a lot of debris. <\/p>\n

But new research<\/a> led by Sarah Thiele at Princeton University has found that one of the biggest threats is a solar storm that could cause a cut in communications between satellites and their operators. If the resulting geomagnetic storm did cut comms, the research shows that it could take just 2.8 days before a collision. <\/p>\n

SciTech Daily cites<\/a> SpaceX\u2019s own report which says that between December 1, 2024, and May 31, 2025, Starlink satellites performed 144,404 collision avoidance maneuvers. That means every 1.8 minutes, a satellite in the Starlink network had to correct course to avoid an accident. <\/p>\n

Thiele\u2019s study introduces something called the Collision Realization and Significant Harm (CRASH). It\u2019s a metric that estimates how long it might take for a significant collision to occur in space if operators on Earth lost contact with satellites and could no longer make maneuvers. Less than 72 hours is a period that\u2019s come down dramatically since 2018, when it was more like 164 days. <\/p>\n

Things are already tight up there. Every 47 seconds, a Starlink satellite passes within one kilometer (0.62 miles) of another object. A team on the ground is gauging the satellites\u2019 course, guiding them through. Nevertheless, there\u2019s very little room for error. <\/p>\n

Star Threat <\/p>\n

SciTech Daily reports that very strong solar storms are rare. In 1859, a strong solar flare caused an intense geomagnetic storm that reportedly set some telegraph stations on fire. Known as the Carrington Event, if it happened today, it would likely cause a lot more damage and interfere with satellites. <\/p>\n

If operators lost control of satellites and there was a collision, it could endanger future space missions, like the recent Artemis II. <\/p>\n

The researchers aren\u2019t calling for satellites to be eliminated; rather, they want to make plain just how delicate the system is and how it requires constant, precise control. <\/p>\n

Image credits:<\/strong> Header photo licensed via Depositphotos<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"They fly above us unseen \u2014 some are taking photos of outer space \u2014 but the intense network…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":931403,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[8],"tags":[87148,260544,2823,70,413,260545,1603,3435,16,15],"class_list":["post-931402","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-science","tag-debris","tag-lowearthorbit","tag-satellites","tag-science","tag-space","tag-spacejunk","tag-spacex","tag-starlink","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116501199555395226","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/931402","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=931402"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/931402\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/931403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=931402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=931402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=931402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}