Strictly the low orbits of StarLink actually make it a sort of non-issue: there's PLENTY of atmospheric friction at the orbits used so re-entry is only a matter of time.
The bigger issue is higher orbits where orbital decay has far small perturbations to rely on. Those can be 10,000 year orbits which makes for a real problem.
Strictly the low orbits of StarLink actually make it a sort of non-issue: there's PLENTY of atmospheric friction at the orbits used so re-entry is only a matter of time.
The bigger issue is higher orbits where orbital decay has far small perturbations to rely on. Those can be 10,000 year orbits which makes for a real problem.