Are we being trapped?

By Jim Thompson
HCP columnist

On Oct. 4, 1957, Russia launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite. It weighed 184 pounds, and it transmitted a signal for 21 days until its batteries were depleted.  

Today there are about 14,000 artificial satellites circling the Earth, over half of which are SpaceX’s Starlink satellites. Amazon has launched 27 satellites to start building out Project Kuiper, its planned competitive internet constellation of more than 3,000 satellites. It appears the number of satellites orbiting the Earth will soon reach 20,000.

The Starlink satellites are at an orbit elevation of 340 miles above Earth. This is about the same distance as Cleveland is from Cincinnati. Not very far in galactic terms or even walking for that matter.

An imaginary sphere on the orbit of the Starlink satellites has a surface area of about 232,677,000 square miles. Each Starlink satellite has a surface area of 42 square feet, before deployment of its solar panels. The solar panels make each one about 325 square feet in total. This isn’t much in total, except if you are trying to dodge (or is it DOGE?) them on your trip to Mars. 

Pictures exist of space junk hitting satellites at about 18,000 miles per hour, or about three times the velocity of Lee Harvey Oswald’s Mannlicher-Carcano round used to assassinate President Kennedy. The result isn’t pretty, just as it wasn’t at Dealey Plaza on Nov. 22, 1963. 

Complaints have already surfaced from astronomers trying to see distant orbs through all of this deleterious material. Flashing reflections, blocking objects are all in their litany of complaints. However, this may just induce us to put more orbiting telescopes above it all.  

Now, a note about my writing.  

First of all, Rory Ryan, HCP publisher and owner, gives me more freedom as a writer than I deserve. What you have just read above in this column would deserve an “F” in English class just for being a mixed-up mess. 

These days, Rory lets me do what I want, and I am usually a few columns ahead in my mind. My current plan is an “On the Moraine” column (currently at nine parts and counting) early in the week and a contemporary, often political, column at the end of the week. {Publisher's note: Jim has instructed that his "On the Moraine" series appear in our print edition over his political observations.} 

I had been thinking about satellite congestion for several weeks. However, when I got out the calculator and started working through the numbers above, I wasn’t impressed, and it wasn’t going well.

So, I trudged on (it actually is never a trudge; I have loved writing since Mr. Kenney’s senior class at HHS).  

Yet, today I was committed to my subject and determined to see it through. Hence, I dragged in LH Oswald to try to spice it up.  

So now, if I were on television, I am breaking through “the fourth wall” to reveal a bit of the sausage-making to you dear, faithful readers.  

Did I mention I love writing? Have a good weekend.

Jim Thompson, formerly of Marshall, is a graduate of Hillsboro High School and the University of Cincinnati. He resides in Duluth, Ga. and is a columnist for The Highland County Press.