Satellites have many chlorinated and florinated chemicals, so being vaporized means introducing large volumes to the upper atmosphere where they can catalyze the destruction of ozone molecules. I'd be interested how the volume compares to other sources of atmospheric halogens. They could hardly match the quantity of refrigerant gases released, but being deposited directly in the upper atmosphere may make them more potent.

• TeMPOraL

  today at 10:37 PM

  Good catch. I doubt it's even a rounding error right now, but with the space market undergoing a rather rapid growth (good thing!), it's a good time to start tracking this and hopefully address before it turns into a problem.

  • Loughla

    today at 11:02 PM

    >hopefully address before it turns into a problem.

    Ron Howard's voice "They didn't."

    But in all seriousness, there will be zero stomach for limiting launches for the ozone layer. I'm calling it now. Group 1 won't believe it's a problem. Group 2 will say it's just lefty elitists trying to ruin the economy. Group 3 will say there's no such thing as satellites.

    Check back in 40 years. I bet I'm right.

    • bozo16

      today at 11:24 PM

      New Zealand will be back to the top of the skin cancer list. We'll be getting the 10 minute exposure sunburns in winter too!

What would be the number of reentries in the near future?

5-20 satellites daily?

At first glance, it seems negligible.

On the hand, given the intentional nature if disposable low-orbit, 20 more than ideal.

• EA-3167

  today at 11:24 PM

  SpaceX wants their Starlink constellation to crack 100,000, and there are plenty of competitors lining up who will surely want to have "the biggest and the best" at some point. None of those sats stay up terribly long, so you'll have a constant cadence of launches and reentries, both of which are a risk for their impact on the climate system, atmosphere, etc.

  A largely unstudied risk, and once which will almost certainly be strenuously ignored for as long as possible.

Waste of fucking money. The X that fall per year is nothing compared to the millions of tons of other pollution.