#lowearthorbit — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #lowearthorbit, aggregated by home.social.
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"Nivelir (Russian: Нивелир; 'dumpy level'; Project 14K167) is a class of Russian military low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites widely believed to be co-orbital anti-satellite weapons (ASAT) with secondary space surveillance missions. The spacecraft are often compared to Matryoshka 'nesting dolls,' as each contain a smaller inspector subsatellite, which can themselves deploy one or more kinetic kill vehicles (KKV)."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nivelir #lowearthorbit -
Is that all? Only ~1 Ton per week?
Last year, the U.S. Space Force issued alerts for nearly 820 objects entering the Earth’s atmosphere.
“Re-entries happen each and every day,” "Huge objects weighing a metric ton or more arrive about once a week" according the space collision experts.
While much of the debris incinerates in the atmosphere or splashes into the Pacific, but when it does not - it can land anywhere and on one can predict where.
SpaceX indicates ~5% of the mass of some of its satellites may not disintegrate when they "de-orbit". https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/31/world/asia/space-debris-falling-crashing-earth-risk.html?unlocked_article_code=1.11A.WhlN.uAdqod1FWRBC
I wrote about Satellite Collision Avoidance systems here: https://techaptitude.substack.com/p/satellite-collision-avoidance-technology
#Space #SpaceJunk #SpaceDebris #EarthOrbit #LEO #LowEarthOrbit #SSA #SpaceSituationalAwareness #Satellites #Deorbit #FCC #Regulations
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#SpaceDatacenters proposed by #Musk and #Bezos ‘catastrophic’ for planet, experts warn
New US petition demands review of plans from #TechCompanies amid fears of #EnvironmentalDestruction
Tom Perkins
Thu 23 Jul 2026Excerpt: "The number of active #satellites in orbit has grown exponentially from about 1,400 in 2015 to about 15,000 currently. As many as 100,000 are expected to be in orbit within the decade, not including the #datacenter networks. As of now, the bulk of the satellites’ pollution is thought to come from #Starlink and Amazon’s '#MegaConstellations' that provide broadband internet made up of about 10,000 satellites.
"Spacecraft can cause problems on their way up and down. Launches emit a range of emissions like #BlackCarbon, #NitrogenOxides, #CarbonMonoxide, #AluminumOxide, #ChlorineGases and, once in orbit, #mercury. When satellites are decommissioned five to 15 years later, they release metals as they vaporize. That’s injecting #pollutants into previously pristine parts of the #stratosphere, a highly sensitive system, and there’s very little understanding of the consequences."
Read more:
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/jul/23/space-datacenters-bezos-blue-originArchived version:
https://archive.ph/A9F07#ElonSucks #TechBros #BezosSucks #BigData #Datacenters #WorldPol #USPol #LEO #LowEarthOrbit #KesslerSyndrome #LightPollution
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@tuban_muzuru @kibcol1049 So who will be paying for that? Not Elon Jeff or their ilk to be sure. #Space #LowEarthOrbit
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Musk’s Starlink Socks Customers With $1500 ‘High Demand’ Surcharge
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Amazon confirms it now has enough satellites (currently 396) in orbit to begin “initial service” of its Leo internet-from-space network later this year. Last launch = liftoff at 12:30:15 a.m. EDT on July 2, using ULA Atlas V launch vehicle.
No formal start date for LEO other than "later this year". https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/02/amazon-has-deployed-enough-satellites-to-launch-leo-service-this-year.html #Amazon #Leo #Space #Satellite #Internet #ULA #AtlasV #LowEarthOrbit
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Is it just me - or is about to get a bit crowded up here!
Orbital Compute just filed a plan to launch ~ 100,000 data-center satellites into Low Earth Orbit.
This is just latest such filing, to date plans to launch approx. 1,235,000 satellites into Low Earth orbit have been files with the FCC and ITU. Yes, that is million! The number of satellites that actually get deployed will vary from these numbers - but still!
In addition to Orbital Compute, filers include: SpaceX, Amazon, Oneweb, and assorted Chinese entities (14 different constellations). https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/us-firm-files-fcc-application-for-100-000-satellite-data-center-constellation/ar-AA26ZrRX #Space #Satellites #SpaceDataCenters #LEO #LowEarthOrbit #FCC #ITU #SpaceX #Amazon #OneWeb
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Close, but no cigar...
A Chinese rocket breaks apart dangerously close to the #Starlink constellation
By Stephen Clark, June 15, 2026
#WorldPol #DarkSkies #KesslerSyndrome #KesslerEffect #LowEarthOrbit #LEO
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SpaceX has officially pushed its Star link mega-constellation past 10,600 active satellites in low-Earth orbit following another flawless Falcon 9 deployment.
#spacex #starlink #falcon9 #elonmuskquotes #spaceexploration #satelliteinternet #astronomy #technews #rocketlaunch #LowEarthOrbit
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Ooopsies! #BlueOrigin rocket explosion damages #NewGlenn launchpad in Florida
Everyone working in the area was “accounted for and safe" after the New Glenn explosion, according to Jeff Bezos.
By Emilee Speck, AccuWeather staff writer
Published May 29, 2026#LowEarthOrbit #Megaconstellations
#RocketPollution #Grounded #AmazonSucks #TechBrosInSpace #SendTechBrosToMars -
Creeping closer to #KesslerSyndrome...
#SpaceWeather News, May 19, 2026
PUTTING THE "MEGA" IN MEGACONSTELLATION
"Two months ago, headlines announced a Space Age milestone: #SpaceX now has more than 10,000 active #Starlink satellites circling Earth--two-thirds of all the working satellites in the sky. Analysts were gobsmacked by the pace of change.
Turns out, that's nothing. Back in January, SpaceX had already filed paperwork asking the FCC for permission to launch a million. The proposed #megaconstellation would become a solar-powered #AIDataDenter, requiring hourly rocket launches carrying a million tons of satellites per year."
Source:
https://spaceweather.com/#Madness #TechBros #LowEarthOrbit #DarkSkies #KesslerEffect #Satellites #SpacePollution #LEO
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BOOM! 💥 #BlueOrigin New Glenn rocket explodes on launch pad in Florida
ByUpdated on: May 29, 2026
"A powerful New Glenn rocket owned by #JeffBezos' Blue Origin exploded in a spectacular fireball Thursday, sending billowing clouds of fire, smoke and flaming debris into the night sky in a tremendous conflagration visible for miles around.
"The explosion occurred around 9 p.m. EDT as engineers were counting down to a brief test firing of the New Glenn's seven methane-fueled BE-4 first stage engines at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Blue Origin was gearing up for a June launch to put a batch of Amazon #Leo internet #satellites into orbit.
"As the engines appeared to begin firing, something clearly went wrong at the base of the rocket. The 188-foot-tall first stage became enveloped in a rapidly growing fire and moments later, the 86-foot-tall upper stage could be seen tilting and starting to fall as the first stage apparently began collapsing.
"Then the vehicle suddenly exploded as its load of #methane fuel and liquid oxygen ignited in a roiling fireball."
Read more:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/blue-origin-new-glenn-rocket-explodes-launchpad-florida/#LowEarthOrbit #Megaconstellations #RocketPollution #AmazonSucks #TechBrosInSpace #SendTechBrosToMars
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#SPHEREx confirms predictions for artificial #SatelliteTrail pollution in #LowEarthOrbit: https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.27501 -> "SPHEREx observations obtained between May and September 2025 indicate that 73[...]% of the images already show satellite trail contamination, with an average number of N=2[...] trails per exposure, providing observational validation of the published light contamination models."
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Analyst on #China’s spent rocket stages: “Things only continue to get worse”
Spent upper stages are the most dangerous kind of #SpaceDebris.
Eric Berger – May 26, 2026
"Further growth is anticipated from both the company’s state-owned enterprises as well as a rapidly expanding number of private launch companies. There is nothing wrong with this, as China’s rapid growth in launch has been mirrored by the United States and, in particular, SpaceX.
"However there is an issue with these launches, as China appears to be ignoring long-established norms about disposing of the upper stages of rockets. These are the parts of the vehicle that separate from the first stage of a rocket and push a satellite or spacecraft into orbit."
[...]
" 'China… continues to abandon many rocket bodies in high low-Earth orbit,' Shell wrote on LinkedIn early Monday. 'The total mass of orbital debris is a key variable influencing the long-term sustainment of space. There is broad agreement that abandoning rocket body upper stages in long-lived orbits is not a best practice. In fact, all the major space-faring nations have acknowledged this.' ”
#SpaceJunk #KesslerSyndrome #KesslerEffect #Megaconstellations #DarkSkies #SpacePollution #SpaceX #LowEarthOrbit
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SpaceX Secures $2.29B to Bolster Space Force's LEO Network
SpaceX is turbocharging the US Space Force's connectivity with a $2.29 billion contract to build a low Earth orbit data-transport constellation, set to become the backbone of the Space Data Network by 2027. This game-changing network will revolutionize the way our space systems communicate and share critical data.
#Spacex #SpaceForce #LowEarthOrbit #LeoNetwork #SpaceDataNetwork
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What Happens if a Nuke Goes Off in Space?
Russia may be planning to put a nuclear weapon in orbit. We have known since the 1960s why that is a bad idea
By Allison Parshall, June 13, 2024
"The auroras over Hawaii on the night of July 8, 1962, were unlike any that humans had ever witnessed. 'N-Blast Tonight May Be Dazzling; Good View Likely,' read a headline in the Honolulu Advertiser beforehand. Nine seconds after 11 P.M., a startling flash set the sky aglow like eerie daylight, slowly fading from green to yellow to orange before settling on a vivid, unsettling red.
"The U.S. had just detonated a thermonuclear bomb 100 times more powerful than the one dropped on Hiroshima. Launched on a missile from Johnston Atoll, a U.S. unincorporated territory between the Marshall Islands and Hawaii, the bomb exploded at 250 miles above Earth’s surface—around the altitude in #LowEarthOrbit of most modern-day satellites. This event, called #StarfishPrime, wasn’t the first or last time that the U.S. or Soviet Union tested nuclear weapons in space (there were more than a dozen tests between 1958 and 1962), but it was the most impactful. The blast generated a power surge over the Pacific Ocean that knocked out about 300 streetlights on the island of Oahu—and destroyed or damaged about a third of the roughly two dozen satellites then in orbit.
" 'The Starfish Prime shot is sort of the poster child for why we don’t like nukes blowing up in space,' says Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian. Indeed, only a few years later, in 1967, both the U.S. and the Soviet Union signed on to the Outer Space Treaty, which forbade putting weapons of mass destruction in orbit.
"Now, some six decades after the last nuclear detonation in Earth orbit, the threat of another has emerged with the Department of Defense warning about a potential Russian program to place a nuke in space. When the United Nations Security Council recently put forward a resolution to reaffirm the ban on such weapons, Russia vetoed the measure. U.S. officials have said there is no 'imminent threat' because no warheads are known to be in space.* But they have deemed the prospect 'deeply troubling' because a nuclear detonation there today would be far more destructive than even Starfish Prime."
Read more:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-happens-if-a-nuclear-weapon-goes-off-in-space/#NukesInSpace #NoNukesInSpace #LEO #KesslerEffect #KesslerSyndrome #NoNukes #NoWar #NuclearWeapons #Satellites
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Orbiting Armageddon: Russia’s #EMP Threat from Space and Transatlantic Responses
Apr 17, 2025
Excerpt: "If a #NuclearBomb were detonated in orbit, the physical effects would be unlike a typical terrestrial nuclear blast. There would be no mushroom cloud or shock wave in the vacuum of space. Instead, the weapon’s energy would be released as intense radiation and electromagnetic pulses (Scientific American).
"#Satellites within line of sight of the explosion would be instantly subjected to a blinding flash of gamma rays and X-rays, likely frying their electronics on contact (Scientific American). Moments after, a powerful #EMP would form as the bomb’s gamma radiation ionizes the upper atmosphere. This process, known as the #ComptonEffect, releases billions of high-energy electrons that race along Earth’s magnetic field lines (Scientific American). The result is an expanding wave of electromagnetic energy.
"U.S. defense officials have described this kind of space-triggered EMP as a 'massive energy wave' that could 'destroy satellites' and disrupt a vast swath of the satellites that the world depends on for communication and commerce (Carnegie). In essence, one orbital blast could simultaneously knock out numerous satellites – military and civilian – that are crucial to GPS navigation, telephone and internet links, financial transactions, weather forecasting, and more.
"An EMP from space could also induce chaos on the ground. The pulse would interact with Earth’s atmosphere and magnetic field to send geomagnetically induced currents surging through power lines and electronic networks (Aerospace America). In 1962, the U.S. #StarfishPrime test proved this danger: although detonated 400 kilometers above the Pacific, its EMP caused voltage spikes that blew out 300 streetlights and knocked out telephone lines in Hawaii, nearly 1,500 kilometers away (Scientific American , Aerospace America).
"An orbital detonation today, especially if positioned over populated regions, could overload electrical grids across vast areas. Transformers and grid infrastructure could be destroyed by the sudden, uncontrolled currents (Aerospace America). The scale of blackout could range over one or several countries, depending on the weapon’s altitude and yield. Experts warn that such a scenario would be devastating.
"A U.S. Congressional commission on EMP found that a nationwide power outage caused by a high-altitude nuclear blast could collapse critical infrastructure – an outcome it described as a potential
'civilization killer' if power and services were not restored quickly (Carnegie). In addition to massive economic damage, the disruption of communication and radar networks would impair defense capabilities, complicating crisis management during the very moment it’s most needed."Beyond the immediate blast and pulse, a space-based nuclear explosion would have a long-duration effect that could be even more damaging to space infrastructure. The explosion’s charged particles would become trapped by Earth’s magnetic field, forming an artificial radiation belt encircling the planet (Scientific American).
"This is exactly what happened after Starfish Prime: a man-made #RadiationBelt lingered for years, eventually destroying a third of all satellites in orbit at the time (Scientific American). In today’s environment, with thousands of satellites, the consequences would be dire. The intense radiation would bathe #LowEarthOrbit, causing surviving satellites to degrade and fail over the ensuing days, weeks, and months (Aerospace America). Many satellites that weren’t immediately destroyed would succumb to this enhanced radiation environment.
"Nearly 10,000 active satellites now orbit Earth, and most are not designed to withstand extreme nuclear radiation (Aerospace America). Critical constellations – for example, #SpaceX’s #Starlink network of small satellites (over 6,000 in orbit) that provides high-speed broadband, including to Ukrainian forces – would likely be heavily degraded or completely knocked offline (Scientific American). Replacement of satellites would be hampered as well: the orbital 'fallout' zone could remain dangerous for new satellites for years, denying space to any fresh deployments (Aerospace America). Even astronauts and cosmonauts in space could be in peril."
Archived version:
https://archive.ph/PPMrQ#NoNukesInSpace #LEO #KesslerEffect
#KesslerSyndrome #NoNukes #NoWar #NuclearWeapons #Satellites -
[Thread] In the news... #NukesInSpace!!!
A new US military wargame series began by simulating a #NuclearWeapon in orbit
US officials have said a nuclear detonation would render portions of low-Earth orbit useless for up to a year.
Stephen Clark – May 13, 2026
"US Space Command is inviting commercial companies to participate in a new series of classified wargames. The first exercise simulated a scenario involving a potential nuclear detonation in orbit."
#NoNukesInSpace #LEO #LowEarthOrbit #KesslerEffect #KesslerSyndrome #NoNukes #NoWar #NuclearWeapons #Satellites
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Canada Updates Space Launch and Re-Entry Regulations in Canada Space Launch Act.
New regulations have strict de-orbiting mandates for controlled re-entries for non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) within five years after operational life.
Includes potential liability for debris affecting Canadian airspace, and Operators must submit debris mitigation plans, register for space situational awareness, and prove compliance. https://satnews.com/2026/04/29/canada-tightens-re-entry-regulations-as-spacex-starlink-constellations-descend/ #Canada #Space #SpaceLaunchAct #Satellites #SpaceCraft #Re_Entry #De_Orbit #SpaceJunk #SpaceDebris #Liability #LowEarthOrbit #NGSO
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Satellites Could Start Smashing into Each Other in Less Than Three Days, Study Finds https://petapixel.com/2026/05/01/satellites-could-start-smashing-into-each-other-in-less-than-three-days-study-finds/ #lowearthorbit #satellites #spacejunk #starlink #debris #spacex #Space #space #News
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This #SpaceX Situation: Not Good!
by Jason Koebler, Feb 5, 2026
Excerpt: "There are many reasons that 'AI data centers in space' may be a pipe dream and may not happen, but what he is proposing is a magnitude of #SpaceJunk that no other company could plausibly promise to launch. Data centers or not, SpaceX is now dominating #LowEarthOrbit in a way no other company or country has. While Musk has been gutting the federal government, interfering in #elections, allowing people to generate #CSAM, engaging in white supremacy, planning trips to #EpsteinsIsland, implanting #chips into people’s brains, siphoning off taxpayer money to build ridiculous tunnels, giving his sperm to whoever will take it, turning his cars into experimental robot taxis, and pretending to build #HumanoidRobots, #SpaceX has somewhat (?) quietly #colonized and dominated low earth orbit.
"Musk has taken this space for his own use, concerns about #LightPollution, satellite collisions, and telecom #monopolies be damned. This has always been concerning, but explicitly intertwining the aspirations and fate of SpaceX with Musk’s CSAM generating social media website, his #AIBullshitMachines, and his right wing political project is horrifying and monopolistic. What happens next, I have no idea."
Read more:
https://www.404media.co/this-spacex-situation-not-goodArchived version:
https://archive.ph/vUubi#TechBros #Technopoly #DarkSkies #SpacePollution #AISucks #DataCenters #SkyNet #KesslerEffect #KesslerSyndrome #USPol #WorldPol #SpaceNews #EpsteinFiles
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Counterintuitively, ultra-low Earth Orbits are not about less sustainable, but rather about more sustainable and eco-friendly spaceflight. If done, right: which would mean real air-breathing thrusters, which could (theoretically) allow satellites to stay in low orbit indefinitely, without needing more propellant.
The problem with New Orbit startup is that while they declare this intention, their actual Aura thruster is xenon powered, so the demonstration mission won't actually be sustainable (as I understand it).
The low orbit has numerous advantages - eg. reducing impact on astronomy, because low flying satellites would pass overhead very quickly and most of the time would not be illuminated by sun. There is also zero risk of Kessler syndrome, because most satellites would re-enter quickly. But prolonged lifetime of such satellites is essential, to reduce dangerously high number of launches and re-entries.
https://neworbit.space/news/can-a-humble-startup-boldly-go-where-no-spacetech-has-gone-before
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#SpaceX acquires #xAI, plans to launch a massive #SatelliteConstellation to power it
“This marks not just the next chapter, but the next book in SpaceX and xAI’s mission.”
Eric Berger – Feb 2, 2026
"SpaceX has formally acquired another one of Elon Musk’s companies, xAi, the space company announced on Monday afternoon.
“SpaceX has acquired xAI to form the most ambitious, vertically-integrated innovation engine on (and off) Earth, with AI, rockets, space-based internet, direct-to-mobile device communications and the world’s foremost real-time information and free speech platform,' the company said. 'This marks not just the next chapter, but the next book in SpaceX and xAI’s mission: scaling to make a sentient sun to understand the Universe and extend the light of consciousness to the stars!' [How much Special-K did you take, dude?]
"The merging of what is arguably Musk’s most successful company, SpaceX, with the more speculative xAI venture is a risk. Founded in 2023, xAI’s main products are the generative AI chatbot Grok and the social media site X, formerly known as Twitter. The company aims to compete with OpenAI and other artificial intelligence firms. However, Grok has been controversial, including the sexualization of women and children through AI-generated images, as has Musk’s management of Twitter."
#USPol #WorldPol #ElonSucks #SkyNet #AISucks #DarkSkies #SpacePollution #SatellitePollution #LowEarthOrbit #KesslerEffect #KesslerSyndrom
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It's like #ElonMusk wants there to be a #KesslerEffect! Hard to launch a space program if we can't leave Earth!
#SpaceX seeks go-ahead from the #FCC to put up to a million #DataCenter satellites in orbit
by Alan Boyle on Jan 31, 2026
Excerpt: "SpaceX founder Elon Musk wasn’t kidding about his plans to go big with orbital data centers: The company is asking the Federal Communications Commission to approve a plan to put up to a million satellites in orbit to process data for artificial intelligence applications.
" 'Launching a constellation of a million satellites that operate as orbital data centers is a first step towards becoming a #Kardashev II-level civilization — one that can harness the sun’s full power — while supporting #AI-driven applications for billions of people today and ensuring humanity’s #multiplanetary future amongst the stars,' SpaceX said in an application filed with the FCC on Friday."
Read more:
https://www.geekwire.com/2026/spacex-fcc-million-data-center-satellites/#AISatellites #SkyNet #DarkSkies #Starlink #LowEarthOrbit #LEO #KesslerSyndrome #SolarFlares #Grounded
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Stört beim Sterngucken: Auch Amazons Leo-Konstellation 🛰️ zu hell für die #Forschung | heise online https://www.heise.de/news/Stoert-beim-Sterngucken-Auch-Amazons-Leo-Konstellation-zu-hell-fuer-die-Forschung-11153450.html #Amazon #LowEarthOrbit #research
