"In a post on X, Nicolls wrote that the company is "beginning a significant reconfiguration of its satellite constellation," in which all satellites orbiting at around 550 kilometers (342 miles) will be lowered to around 480 km (298 miles)."
""Lowering the satellites results in condensing Starlink orbits, and will increase space safety in several ways," Nicolls wrote, also pointing to the coming solar minimum - a period in the sun's 11ish-year cycle when activity is lower - as one of the reasons for the move. The next solar minimum is expected to occur in the early 2030s."
""As solar minimum approaches, atmospheric density decreases which means the ballistic decay time at any given altitude increases - lowering will mean a >80% reduction in ballistic decay time in solar minimum, or 4+ years reduced to a few months," Nicolls wrote."
Starlink will lower roughly 4,400 satellites this year, moving satellites from about 550 kilometers to about 480 kilometers. The change aims to reduce collision risk by placing satellites in a less cluttered region and to enable faster deorbiting after incidents. Approaching solar minimum will decrease atmospheric density and increase ballistic decay times at given altitudes; lowering the constellation will reduce ballistic decay time by over 80% during solar minimum, cutting deorbit intervals from more than four years to a few months. Recent satellite anomalies and uncoordinated launches have increased concern about collision and debris risks.
Read at Engadget
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