Scientist issues serious warning over Elon Musk’s billion-dollar company that could threaten life on Earth

Some scientists are sounding the alarm about one of Elon Musk’s major companies, saying it could pose serious risks to life on Earth.

Elon Musk, the billionaire behind Tesla, X (formerly Twitter), and Neuralink, also founded SpaceX in 2002. One of its biggest projects is Starlink, a satellite internet network that has been sending thousands of small satellites into space since 2019. These satellites are meant to bring internet access to people all around the world, especially in remote areas. But experts are warning that the growing number of satellites could be creating new problems for our planet.

Astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell has raised concerns that Starlink satellites are falling back to Earth at a worrying rate. He says that around one or two satellites are re-entering Earth’s atmosphere every day, and that number could increase to as many as five per day in the near future. Right now, there are about 8,000 Starlink satellites in orbit, but SpaceX plans to launch tens of thousands more.

McDowell explained that with the current pace of satellite launches from companies like Starlink, Amazon’s Kuiper project, and similar Chinese networks, we might end up with 30,000 to 50,000 satellites circling the Earth. Since each one needs to be replaced every few years, that means constant re-entries of old satellites burning up in the atmosphere — a process that could have long-term consequences for the environment and even our ability to safely travel into space.

One major concern is that when satellites and old rocket parts fall back to Earth, they burn up in the upper atmosphere, releasing tiny metal particles. A study by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) found unexpected amounts of metals like aluminum, copper, lithium, niobium, and hafnium in the stratosphere — the layer of Earth’s atmosphere that contains the ozone layer. These metals are believed to come from satellites and rockets as they vaporize during re-entry.

Scientists worry that these particles could reflect sunlight or trigger chemical reactions that harm the ozone layer, which protects us from the sun’s ultraviolet rays. Over time, this could change the way the atmosphere behaves and even contribute to climate problems.

Daniel Murphy from NOAA said that very few people are thinking about how space activity affects the upper atmosphere, but it’s something that needs to be studied now — before it’s too late and the effects become irreversible.

In addition to environmental risks, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has also warned about the potential danger of debris from satellites that don’t fully burn up. They predict that by 2035, large pieces of falling satellites could injure or even kill someone on Earth. SpaceX strongly denied this, saying their satellites are designed to completely burn up when they re-enter the atmosphere.

Another danger that scientists fear is something called Kessler syndrome. This is a theoretical chain reaction in space where too much debris leads to constant collisions between satellites. Each collision creates even more debris, making space more dangerous and expensive to use. Eventually, the amount of debris could become so bad that launching new satellites or even sending astronauts safely into orbit would be almost impossible.

NASA scientist Donald Kessler first proposed this idea back in 1978, and experts like MIT’s Richard Linares warn that if it happens, we could lose many of our satellites to collisions, severely damaging global communication systems that rely on them — things like GPS, weather tracking, and internet access.

In short, while Starlink and similar projects are transforming global internet access, experts say we might be paying a heavy environmental and safety price if these issues aren’t addressed soon. Scientists are urging space companies and governments to study and regulate the growing number of satellites before the problem becomes too big to fix.