SpaceX Starlink satellite may start burning up over the UK ‘very shortly’
A Starlink satellite has re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere today and there is a chance that it will burn up over the UK ‘very shortly’.
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There is reportedly no expectation that the Starlink-1855 will cause any damage.
The UK Space Agency wrote on Twitter: “We are monitoring its re-entry together with @DefenceHQ, and there is no expectation the re-entry will cause any damage.”
The Agency and Ministry of Defence have confirmed they will be continually monitoring the satellite.
Jake Geer, Head of Space Surveillance and Tracking at the UK Space Agency said: “Today a Starlink-1855 satellite re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere.
“There is a low chance it will re-enter over the UK at around 12:18 BST, and you might be able to spot the satellite as it burns up.
“Starlink has fantastic track record of orchestrating safe and reliable re-entries and we don’t expect this satellite to cause any damage.
“Still, the UK Space Agency and Ministry of Defence continually monitor and assess re-entries of satellites and debris and any risks to British Territories through our joint Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST) capabilities.”
It was recently reported that the £7.25 billion satellite broadband system, created by Elon Musk, had its wings clipped – by a bunch of ‘pesky pigeons’.
The tycoon spent six years honing his Starlink service to provide internet connectivity to remote parts of the planet and extra cover to towns and cities worldwide.
He has zapped 1,700 satellites into space to send and receive signals from little dishes sitting on house rooftops.
But a Brit cyber security expert monitoring the system said it keeps dropping out – due to pigeons mistaking the receivers for birdbaths.
Every time they land on his dish the signal cuts out for at least a second. The birds also cover the receivers in poo.
The primitive problem may not just affect Musk’s pioneering project. Amazon’s Project Kuiper plans to launch 3,236 broadband satellites.
A huge ground station for the Starlink service has been approved on the Isle of Man.
The move is part of the billionaire’s plan to deliver broadband internet around the world, using thousands of satellites.
The ground station will be the corporation’s third base near or in the UK and will feature a large dish that will send and receive data transmissions.
Starlink, which already has bases in Cornwall and Buckinghamshire is an off-shoot division of the billionaire’s aerospace manufacturing giant SpaceX.
The parent company that is based in California has already launched more than 800 satellites into orbit.
