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NotAnotherNekopan t1_j9pl5rl wrote

Reply to comment by [deleted] in What will be the environmental impact of de-orbiting 42,000 Starlink satellites every five years? (Explanation in post) by OvidPerl

No sources...

Also, there's considerations here to be made about what is going up. It's not just generic particulate matter, but more exotic materials in the upper atmosphere. There's simply no precedence for what that might do.

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15_Redstones t1_j9sutzh wrote

Exotic?

The structure of the satellite is mostly aluminum, and the solar panels are mostly silicon. Burning them in reentry forms compounds with oxygen.

Those are the three most common elements on the planet. Aluminum-Silicon-Oxygen compounds make up more than 60% of the Earth's crust. Add water and you basically have common clay.

There isn't a single combination of elements that's less exotic.

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