A controversial study claims that ‘megacconstellation’ satellites such as billionaire Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite service could weaken the Earth’s magnetic field. Is this true? The research states that ‘space debris’ from defunct satellites burning up in the atmosphere could weaken the Earth’s magnetic field.
One of the authors of this study said the worst-case scenario, the expansion of commercial satellite ‘megacconstellations’ orbiting Earth, such as SpaceX’s Starlink network, could generate enough magnetic dust to breach Earth’s protective shield, potentially causing satellite disasters and “stripping away the atmosphere.”
However, other researchers are skeptical of the study’s claims, although they all agree on the urgent need to measure the scale of the problem.
Private satellites currently in orbit are disrupting radio telescopes and increasing the risk of collisions with other spacecraft. However, the real threat is what happens when they cease to operate.
When spacecraft complete their missions, most will deorbit and burn up in Earth’s atmosphere to reduce the amount of space junk orbiting our planet.
However, when they burn up, spacecraft pollute the upper atmosphere with evaporated metal pollution.
In a paper uploaded to the preprint database arXiv in December 2023, Sierra Solter-Hunt, a doctoral candidate at the University of Iceland, stated that spacecraft debris in the atmosphere could endanger the magnetosphere, part of Earth’s magnetic field that extends into space and protects the atmosphere from solar radiation.
She was concerned that if satellite ‘megacconstellations’ evolved, the amount of dust they release could create a magnetic shield that could limit the range of the magnetosphere.
“I was surprised by what I found, and no one has researched this yet,” said Solter-Hunt, quoted by LiveScience on Thursday, March 14.
“I think this is very, very worrying,” she continued.
Solter-Hunt predicts that between 500 thousand and 1 million private satellites could orbit in the coming years. When all these satellites eventually fall to Earth, it could increase the amount of spacecraft debris in the atmosphere to billions of times the current levels.
Solter-Hunt said it is currently unclear where all this space debris will ultimately end up, but she suspects this dust will settle in the upper ionosphere, the atmospheric region located at altitudes of 80 to 644 km above the surface.
Magnetic Shield
Salter-Hunt said if all these satellites burn up, the spacecraft debris could create a “perfect conductive net around our planet” capable of carrying electric charges.
If this happens, the magnetosphere will “distort to stay below the conducting material,” essentially limiting its range to the upper ionosphere.
She added that a reduced magnetic field could expose satellites to high levels of radiation and solar storms, which could bring them down from the sky.
“This is a real Catch-22 for satellite companies,” she added. “They could weaken the magnetosphere with what they’re doing, which in turn endangers themselves.”
Although the magnetosphere is not shrinking, an increase in the amount of spacecraft debris could still make it difficult for rockets to launch new satellites and other spacecraft into space.
This is because magnetic particles can interfere with electronic equipment inside spacecraft.
From Worst-Case Scenarios to Pros and Cons
In Solter-Hunt’s worst-case scenario, increased radiation bombarding the upper ionosphere could begin to erode the outer edges of the Earth’s atmosphere.
However, she said this would be the “most extreme case” and might take centuries, if not thousands of years, to occur.
Previous research has shown that some of this pollution, especially alumina (aluminum oxide), can thin the ozone layer in the atmosphere. This could also potentially increase the size of the ozone hole above Earth’s polar regions.
The magnetosphere also undergoes natural weakening as the Earth’s core grows and solidifies, and no one knows if spacecraft debris can accelerate this process or not.
Triggering Pro and Con
This study has triggered pros and cons among scientists. Some researchers praise this new research for highlighting the potential hidden problem of spacecraft debris.
Samantha Lawler, an astronomer at the University of Regina, Canada, called this research a very important first step. She also highlighted the “frightening” amount of spacecraft debris that could be stored in the atmosphere.
“The consequences [of this pollution] could also be on a completely different scale than we normally think,” Samantha explained.
Meanwhile, other experts argue that Solter-Hunt’s scenarios are too speculative or based on incorrect assumptions. !!!!!!!!
“Even at the discussed density [of spacecraft debris], a continuously conductive shell like a real magnetic shield is highly unlikely to occur,” said John Tarduno, a planetary scientist and magnetosphere expert at the University of Rochester in New York.
He said some assumptions in the paper are also “too simplistic and likely untrue.”
Jose Ferreira, a doctoral candidate at the University of Southern California, said there is no modeling yet on how spacecraft debris will settle in the atmosphere.
Furthermore, there is also no modeling on how long it will persist or how conductive it will be, meaning there is no evidence that a magnetic shield may occur.
Solter-Hunt understands the criticisms of the researchers. However, as satellite launches are about to increase, she wants to share her theory with the scientific community.
“I could be wrong,” she said, “But I’m putting it out there for everyone to see and discuss.”
