Starlink's satellite blitz and the issue of close encounters in space

The last decade has seen increasing problems with space junk and live satellites

The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, has a talent for getting involved in controversy. The latest centres on his plans to provide broadband internet through the constellation of Starlink satellites. When Starlink launched, astronomers complained the shiny new objects hurtling across the sky seriously interfered with astronomical observations. Musk tried to cut the albedo (the amount of light reflected) of these satellites to comply with academic pressure.

Now, the Chinese are complaining the Starlink satellites present a safety hazard. The Chinese space station, Tiangong, had to dodge and weave to narrowly avoid catastrophic collisions twice, in July and in October.

Starlink, which