SpaceX Starship orbital test could generate debris exceeding Russia's 2021 anti-satellite strike

SpaceX's upcoming orbital test of Starship poses a debris risk that could exceed the fallout from Russia's 2021 anti-satellite missile strike if the rocket's upper stage were to explode in orbit, according to an aerospace expert.

Elon Musk's SpaceX is expected to launch the Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy booster for the launch system's 14th test flight and first orbital test flight later this month. The mission will mark the first attempt by the world's largest and most powerful rocket to reach Earth's orbit.

Debris comparison to anti-satellite test

Moriba Jah, a professor of aerospace engineering at The University of Texas at Austin, said an in-orbit explosion of Starship's upper stage could produce debris on a scale larger than previous in-orbit incidents, including an anti-satellite missile test.

"If something like that happened in low-Earth orbit, it would be like the Russian anti-satellite test, but probably a few scales larger in terms of the amount of debris it would generate," Jah said.

In November 2021, Russia intentionally blew up a defunct Soviet intelligence satellite called Cosmos-1408. Jah said the Russian test had detrimental consequences for the operation of SpaceX's Starlink satellite constellation.

Risk to orbital infrastructure

Experts say the risk of an in-flight catastrophe and a cloud of debris "needs to be of concern" as Starship gears up for the orbital attempt.

Jah said if Starship were to explode in orbit, it could create a lot of debris that could become hazards to other objects as well as humans.

Source: South China Morning Post