--- title: "Experts Call for System Preventing Satellite Collisions" description: "Keeping track of an immense and growing amount of objects in Earth's orbit is becoming increasingly difficult and could end in disaster, as NPR reports." date: "2020-01-23" modified: "2020-01-23" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/system-preventing-satellite-collisions" categories: - "Space" tags: - "satellites" - "SpaceX" - "starlink" - "the digest" --- # Experts Call for System Preventing Satellite Collisions ![Keeping track of an immense and growing amount of objects in Earth's orbit is becoming increasingly difficult and could end in disaster, as NPR reports.]() *\Image: Image via NeedPix\* ## Satellite Collision SpaceX is planning to launch more than 40,000 tiny Starlink satellites to bring broadband internet service to the entire globe. On Friday, the Elon Musk-led company is planning to send up another 60 satellites, bringing the total to [nearly 240](). Keeping track of such an immense cloud of orbital objects is becoming increasingly difficult and could potentially result in disaster, [*NPR* reports](). Experts told NPR that there needs to be international oversight and a universal set of rules — in other words, something like air traffic control, except for space. ## Simply Smashing The potential for disaster is great. In September, the European Space Agency satellite had to perform a "collision avoidance" maneuver to avoid an incoming SpaceX Starlink satellite. SpaceX [ignored]() the warming — but fortunately, there was no crash. "I think a major cataclysm of some form will happen in space that will have very long term consequences," former NASA scientist and professor at the University of Texas at Austin Moriba Jah told *NPR*. Not only would private companies like SpaceX lose satellites in a crash, but the collision would generate a field of deadly debris that could put astronauts [at risk](). ## E-Mail Alerts The US military is already tracking tens of thousands of objects larger than the size of a softball, but its collision prevention methods are outdated. To help satellite owners avoid collisions, the system sends out automated warnings messages, often via e-mail — but rarely with any follow-up, according to *NPR*. **READ MORE:** [Can Space Traffic Control Handle The Volume Of Private Launches?]() \[*NPR*\] **More on satellite control:** *[Researcher: SpaceX Satellite Plans Break US Environmental Law]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()