"Recent footage released by Don Pettit, a career NASA astronaut who recently returned from a 208-day stint aboard the International Space Station, shows multiple convoys of Musk's SpaceX satellites crisscrossing each other over the horizon. "How visible were these by eye from this unique vantage point?" one social media user asked. "Very visible," the astronaut replied. "Many were as bright as Jupiter, they would flash from 1 to 10 seconds.""
"As of October, there are more than 8,000 active Starlink satellites swirling around the planet's Low Earth Orbit. Dozens more are reportedly inactive, gathering space dust as they tumble through the heavens. Astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell recently warned that one or two of those are now tumbling back to Earth every day, a number that's only expected to rise as Musk pursues his ambitious goal of 42,000 satellites in orbit, in what he calls a "megaconstellation.""
Don Pettit captured footage from the International Space Station showing convoys of SpaceX Starlink satellites crossing the horizon, many as bright as Jupiter and flashing for one to ten seconds. More than 8,000 active Starlink satellites orbit in Low Earth Orbit, with dozens inactive and tumbling. Jonathan McDowell warned that one or two satellites are now falling back to Earth daily, a rate expected to increase as the program targets 42,000 satellites in a "megaconstellation." Surveys found Starlink emissions photobombed up to 30 percent of some radio-telescope images and transmitted on reserved frequencies.
Read at Futurism
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