SPACEX SYSTEM: STARLINK

Lucía Marín Arias

Jose Ángel Calero Tornero

Carmen Veses Cantó

INDEX
OBJECTIVE.........................................................................................................................................1
INTRODUCTION TO STARLINK.....................................................................................................1
STATE OF THE ART..........................................................................................................................2
MATERIAL SELECTION PROCESS................................................................................................3
1. SPECIFICATIONS...................................................................................................................3
2. SLANT RANGE AND SIGNAL DELAY...............................................................................4
3. CHOSEN MATERIALS...........................................................................................................7
i. Propulsion:.............................................................................................................................7
ii. Integrated Materials:..........................................................................................................8
iii. Properties to function in space:..........................................................................................9
4. DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURING.....................................................................................10
i. DFP Strategies for Product Design......................................................................................10
ii. DFP Strategies for Process Design..................................................................................11
iii. DFP Strategies for Production Planning..........................................................................11
5. TESTING THE MATERIALS................................................................................................11
FACING THE PROBLEMS..............................................................................................................13
6. PROBLEM ANALYSIS.........................................................................................................13
7. ALTERNATIVES TO SOLVE THE PROBLEMS................................................................14
Possible improvement of Starlink Satellites.......................................................................................17
Comparison........................................................................................................................................17
Conclusion..........................................................................................................................................17
OBJECTIVE
The main objective of this research is to investigate the materials of the Starlink satellites, analysing the
reason behind the selection of the materials used and to consider if and propose different design and
materials in order to improve current satellites.

The following specific objectives would facilitate the attainment of this purpose:
-To analyse the purpose of Starlink
-To analyse the materials of its satellites.
-To analyse the problems and the proposed solutions.

Once SpaceX system is thoroughly studied, and we carry out the aforementioned objectives, our
primary purpose is to accomplish the next set of goals:

-To find our own solutions to these problems.

-To find more suitable materials to the Starlink satellites.
-To explain the conditions of fabricability needed of the materials.
-To compare these new materials to the original ones.
-To present our project to the class.

INTRODUCTION TO STARLINK
Since 2015, SpaceX, the company owned by technology billionaire Elon Musk, announced his company
was developing: ‘Starlink’. This is an ambitious project which looks forward to launching thousands of
small internet satellites. They form the SpaceX non-geostationary orbit (“NGSO”) satellite system (the
“SpaceX System”) that consists of a constellation of 4,425 satellites (plus in-orbit spares) operating in
83 orbital planes (at altitudes ranging from 340 km to 1,100 km, this being in the low Earth orbit), as
well as associated ground control facilities, gateway earth stations and end user earth stations.

This project that guarantees a high-quality broadband internet to the most remotes places on our planet,
has received permission from the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC), to launch over
12,000 Starlink satellites, increasing this figure to 42,000 in orbit in the future. It will have a good
quality price in relation with other companies’ services.

Figure 1. Starlink system objective.

Nevertheless, astronomers have raised concerns about the constellations’ effect on ground-based
astronomy and how the satellites will add to an already jammed orbital environment. It ignited
conversations about the ethics of a single company unilaterally changing the night sky’s appearance.
STATE OF THE ART
Starlink is an ongoing project, and as such, the leading-edge advancement was made the past 18 March
2021. The spacecraft constellation traces a circular orbit with an altitude of 550 km, hence being part of
a Low Earth Orbit.

Figure 2. Starlink seen from the Earth

The latest news is that Nasa and SpaceX have signed a joint agreement to formalize both parties’ strong
interest in the sharing of information to maintain and improve space safety. This agreement enables a
deeper level of coordination, cooperation, and data sharing, and defines the arrangement,
responsibilities, and procedures for flight safety coordination. The focus of the agreement is on
conjunction avoidance and launch collision avoidance between NASA spacecraft and the large
constellation of SpaceX Starlink satellites, as well as related rideshare missions.

Current Starlink spacecraft are equipped with global navigation satellite service receivers to estimate
orbital parameters, an ion propulsion system and autonomous maneuvering capability that provides data.
Moreover, their satellites will autonomously or manually maneuver in order to ensure collision

Figure 3. Starlink design Figure 4. Starlink Prototype (Tintin B)

avoidance.
Starlink satellites have installed a Star tracker navigation system that allows SpaceX to point the
satellites with precision and each satellite is capable of tracking on-orbit debris and automatically avoid
collision. Furthermore, their satellites are designed to burn while entering the Earth’s atmosphere,
finishing the end of their cycle and decomposing almost 95 per cent of all its components.

Additionally, some relevant data to consider about the latest stock of satellites is that each spacecraft
weighs 227kg, they use hall-effect thruster using krypton as the reaction mass, for position adjustment
on orbit, altitude maintenance and deorbit, as well as using a flat-panel design with multiple high-
throughput antennas and a single solar ray.
Starlink is currently working on a beta phase, named ‘Better Than Nothing Beta’, using the 1300
satellites that are already in orbit. SpaceX is offering its users data speeds which vary from 50Mb/s to
150Mb/s and latency from 20ms to 40ms in most locations, warning that there is likelihood of periods of
no connectivity. In order to participate users must purchase all of the Starlink ground equipment and pay
a monthly fee for active service. The Starlink Kit includes Starlink, Wi-Fi router, power supply, cables
and mounting tripod. The mounting tripod is designed for ground level installation, or to support a quick
start setup to test your internet connection. For users that require a roof install, roof mounts are available
by signing into your account.

Figure 5. Satellite dish installation components

Additionally, SpaceX has published an app that will help beta users set up their systems. Using
augmented reality, the app allows users to search for areas of the sky with unobstructed views so that
they can ensure their user terminals will have line of sight with satellites. It states that, in early service,
the required clear field of view is a 100º cone around the centre of the dish with a 25-degree elevation.
This is due to the significantly low number of satellites in orbit. SpaceX reinsures that, once the project
is complete, this problem will most surely disappear.
Weather conditions, like heavy rain or snow, will affect the internet connection, potentially leading to
slower speeds or a rare outrage. Nevertheless, in case of snow, it will detect the situation and melt the
snow that falls directly on it.
The app also walks people through the setup process. It must be said that public beta testing will start
with users in the United States and Canada in 2020.

MATERIAL SELECTION PROCESS

1. SPECIFICATIONS

The constellation is planned to be organized in three spatial shells, each of them made up of several
hundreds of small-dimensioned and light-weighted low Earth orbit specially designed satellites to
provide broadband services, intending to offer global Earth coverage through their interoperability,
combined also with the ground stations as a part of the satellite-terrestrial integrated network.

Parameters

v 0.9 226.796
Launch mass (kg)
v 1.0 260
Ku-, Ka- and E-band
antennas
Equipment
Laser transponders
 Hall-effect thrusters

Low Earth orbit

Regime
Sun-synchronous orbit
Table 1. General specifications.

By October 24, 2020, SpaceX confirmed 893 satellites were accommodated in space in low orbits,
moreover, they are classified as small satellites. In total, nearly 12,000 satellites are planned to be
deployed and organized in three orbital shells, as follows:

- The first shell: 1 440 in a 550 km altitude shell.

- The second shell: 2 825 in a 1 110 km altitude shell.
- The third shell: 7 500 in a 340 km altitude shell.

Parameters H=550 km H=1 110 km H=340 km

r (km) 6 921 7 481 6 711

v(km/s) 7.589 7.299 7.706

T (min) 95.5 107.3 91.2

n 15.03 13.38 15.74

Table 2. Radius, velocity, orbital period, and number of daily passes.

2. SLANT RANGE AND SIGNAL DELAY

Users on ground are part of any satellite network dedicated to lock/unlock communication with
satellites. Ground stations can be locked in communication with LEO satellites only when the satellite is
in their visibility region. The duration of the visibility determines the communication duration.

Then, first we should analyse how does Starlink impact and their visibility:

Figure 6. Steerable service range of Ku-band beams at second shell

Advanced phase array beam-forming and digital processing technologies within the satellite payload
give the system the ability to make highly efficient use the Ku-band. The shape of a phased array beam
at boresight is circular but becomes increasingly elliptical when steered away from boresight, so as it
widens, the size of the spot on the ground increases due to the higher distance to the Earth’s surface, and
the curvature of the Earth enhances this effect. For transmitting antennas, this results in transmission of
radiofrequency energy over a wider area, interfering with other beams of the Space X System using the
same frequencies.

Table 3. Frequency bands used by Space X System.

Thus, the view of the satellite from the ground station differs for each daily. Different satellite’s views
by the user means different visibility duration between the user and the satellite, and consequently
different communication durations. This is typical for LEO satellites.

Figure 7. Ideal and designed horizon plane

The horizon plane is considered as a tangent plane (perpendicular) at the user’s (ground station) vector
with the Earth’s centre (RE). The grey ellipse represents the ideal horizon plane seen from the user.
Theoretically, each point on the Earth’s surface has a different horizon plane, meaning that from each
point on the Earth, the LEO satellite is seen under different viewing angles.

The events AOS (Acquisition of the Satellite) and LOS (Loss of the Satellite), at elevation of 0°,
geographically determine the ideal horizon plane. The first event identifies the case when the satellite
appears just at the horizon plane to be locked and communicate with the ground station and the second
one the case when the satellite just disappears from the horizon plane. Starlink, for the first shell applies
an elevation angle for the designed horizon plane at 40° for users, with a tendency to change it or to
apply for other shells the elevation of 25°for users.

Then the expected geographic coverage for this Ku-band is capable of providing Fixed-Satellite
Services to all locations as far north as 70° North Latitude and as far south as 55° South Latitude for at
least 75 percent of every 24-hour period. Moreover, Starlink satellites are equipped to shift coverage as
need to densify signal strength in certain areas.

Figure 8. Dynamic satellite coverage

The conclusions of when are the Starlink more visible after the study in different parts of the world,
with different elevation degrees suggest:

- Summer: the brightness of the satellites at all latitudes around the world, will be increased, being
then more visible, having the peaks at sunset.

Figure 9. Starlink satellites visible from London (52N) in summer

- Winter: the sky should be free of naked-eye satellites in the middle of the night, but near the
horizon during twilight, its brightness will increase considerably.

Figure 10. Example: Starlink satellites visible from Dunedin (46S) in winter
This way, once we know all these aspects, we can calculate the slant range between the satellite and the
ground station. This is done by:

ε0 is the elevation angle, and it is equal to 0º when representing the largest distance between the satellite
and the ground station, at it d is the same for the AOS and the LOS, being then the maximum one, and
the ideal wideness, the minimum will occur when it is at 90º. Comparing them through the different
shell we obtain:

Designed H=550 km H=1 110 km H=340 km

horizon plane
elevation: ε0 dmax (km) τ (ms) dmax (km) τ (ms) dmax (km) τ (ms)

25º 1 128.7 3.76 2 066.3 6.88 730.5 2.43

30º 992.2 3.31 1 863.3 6.21 631.8 2.10

35º 894.7 2.98 1 706.4 5.68 565.8 1.90

40º 809.5 2.69 1 569.9 5.23 506.5 1.68

Table 4. Maximal distance and one-way signal delay for the different shells.

3. CHOSEN MATERIALS

i. Propulsion:

The satellites are launched to the atmosphere through a krypton-powered ion thruster. It uses a charge
difference to shoot ions out in a specific direction, imparting force in the opposite direction. Kind of like
a tiny electric pea shooter that, in microgravity, pushes the person back with the momentum of the pea.
To do this it needs propellant, usually xenon, since it is easily ionized and has a high atomic mass, thus
generating a desirable level of thrust when ions are accelerated. It also is inert and has a high storage
density; therefore, it is well suited for storing on spacecraft. Nevertheless, Krypton is the next noble gas
up the list in the table and is similar in some ways but easier to get, even if in that way, there is less
thrust efficiency offered.

Figure 11. Krypton-powered ion thruster

This thruster, will be used to manoeuvre in orbit, maintain altitude and guide the spacecraft back into
the atmosphere at the end of their mission.

ii. Integrated Materials:

The first Starlink satellites launched to polar orbit are equipped with laser crosslinks. These intersatellite
links allow satellites to transfer communications from one satellite to another, either in the same orbital
plane or an adjacent plane.

Figure 12. Inter-satellite laser link example

For this purpose, mirrors are needed, and are fabricated with silicon carbide. These low-density
ceramics have a set of unique physical-chemical properties, such as high hardness and mechanical
stability at high temperatures, excellent thermal conductivity and low coefficient of thermal expansion,
high resistance to corrosion and oxidation, wide bandgap, and others.
The launch media kit also described a “Star tracker” and Collision avoidance system. The star tracker
tells each satellite its attitude, or orientation in space, by looking at the stars and comparing that with
known variables like time of day on Earth, that would allow the satellites to locate themselves and
orbital debris with precision. This ties in with collision avoidance, which uses the government’s
database of known space debris and can adjust course to avoid it. This can be added in thanks to the flat-
panel design that maximized the amount that can fit in each payload.

Figure 13. Star-tracker and Collision avoidance system

And why does it only need a single solar array? The merits of it are mainly related to simplicity and
cost, even if having two gives you more power and redundancy if one fails. Although a few thousand of
these things will be at low earth orbit and will be replaced every couple of years, so it probably does not
matter too much. Solar arrays are reliable standard parts now, currently in production the multi-junction
photovoltaic cells. These use multiple layers of light-absorbing materials that efficiently convert specific
wavelength regions of the solar spectrum into energy, like indium gallium phosphide, gallium arsenide
and germanium to harvest more energy from the solar spectrum. Leading edge multi-junction cells are
capable of exceeding 39.2% under non-concentrated AM1.5G illumination and 47.1% using
concentrated AM1.5G illumination.

The flat type of antenna which is integrated can transmit in multiple directions and frequencies without
moving. There are costs as well, but it’s a no-brainer for satellites that need to be small and only need to
transmit in one general direction, downwards.

iii. Properties to function in space:

Structures in space needs to be able to withstand an extremely harsh environment, so that the material
can remain stable in spite of the presence of radiation and the vacuum of space. The most important
properties of a new material which will be used in space are strength and stiffness. When an object is in
orbit around the Earth it will be subjected to incredible forces that will tear apart weaker structures.

The launch can make each component to weigh up to three times as much as it would on Earth. The
material must maintain its integrity and not break or bend under immense forces or the satellite will not
function once it reaches space. Then, there is a variation in gravitational strength which means that the
materials used must be incredibly versatile and unique in their integrity. Another threat to consider is the
number of projectiles which will come into contact with the structure. The shrapnel of older defunct
artificial satellites still orbits around the earth today as space junk. Lastly, the materials have to be
heavier in order to face the before mentioned problems, and consequently, will be more expensive.

Then we have some options which result optimal for the design: Kevlar, which does not melt until
reaching very high temperatures; carbon fibre, which due to its physical properties is highly resistant;
titanium, with a high strength against the effects of oxidation; as well as aluminium, recyclable and
lightweight. Another input frequently used is carbon nanotubes, remarkable for their strength.

In this case, Starlinks are made predominantly of aluminium, since it has low density, is non-toxic, has a
high thermal conductivity, has excellent corrosion resistance and can be easily cast, machined and
formed. It is also non-magnetic and non-sparking. It is the second most malleable metal and the sixth
most ductile.

Moreover, it is important to say that this aluminium construction make atmospheric demise a likely
scenario upon re-entry. SpaceX guaranteed that for the v-0.9 at least the 80% of it will disintegrate,
increasing it to 95% with the v-1.0. No dense metallic components are part of the Starlink satellites,
so any part of it will survive atmospheric reentry and endanger people on the ground reducing
casualty risk to zero, this was one of the huge questions Starlink had to answer about. Nevertheless,
this 15%-5% is caused by some scenarios which were unavoidable.

Two components may survive re-entry, the stainless steel due to being nested in a larger
subassembly, and titanium. These components are 70 and 30 grams respectively, causing their
impact at terminal velocity to remain benign.

Two other components with a chance of re-entry survivability are iron thruster internals and a set of
silicon carbide communications components. While most of the thruster is expected to burn up in the
atmosphere, the nested nature of the assembly leaves a chance of survivability for internal components.
The risk of human casualty varies with their altitudes, at 53º is 1:18 200, which satisfies the requirement
of 1:10 000 established by NASA.

4. DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURING

DFP is the engineering practice of designing products that are easy to manufacture. The strategies
applied simplify, standardize, and improve repeatability using robust product designs and optimized
manufacturing processes. This includes the planning for the design, the process and the production.

i. DFP Strategies for Product Design

- Key product characteristics (KPC): product characteristics for which changes can affect the
product form, fit, function, performance, and/or safety. The methodology uses parameter design
and tolerance design to make product performance insensitive to variations in raw materials,
manufacturing, or the operating environment.

- Design for manufacturing, assembly, and test (DFMAT): focuses on “building in” the
manufacturability, easy assembly, and testability into the product from the beginning.

- Design to cost (DTC): emphasizes cost as a design parameter during the development process.

- Highly accelerated life testing (HALT): involves the intentional application of accelerated and
combined environmental and operational stresses far above the hardware design limits to
accelerate failures to better understand the failure mechanisms.

- Technology readiness levels (TRLs): provide a consistent, uniform way to compare the maturity
of technologies during the acquisition phase of a program.

ii. DFP Strategies for Process Design

- Key control characteristics (KCC): are the inputs that affect the output of a manufacturing
process.

- Process Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (PFMEA): is an approach used to identify risks and
sources of possible errors in a manufacturing process.

- Manufacturing readiness levels (MRL): assess the maturity of manufacturing readiness, just as
TRLs are used for technology readiness.

iii. DFP Strategies for Production Planning

The production plan is based on the master production schedule and the material requirements plan. The
master production schedule (MPS) is the timeline for the production of end items. This creates a
material requirements plan (MRP) that explodes the bill of materials (BOM) and details plans for work
orders and purchase orders.

Level loading is continually producing an amount equal to the average demand, is necessary for a
smooth production plan that will support contractual requirements that typically contain monthly and
accumulative requirements.
Product flow refers to the balanced synchronization of fixed routings and work content at each work cell
that is typical of flow manufactured products.

Table 5. Level-Loaded production plan.

5. TESTING THE MATERIALS

The first phase of testing included two satellites: Microsat-2a and Microsat-2b, that were launched in
2017. Both satellites were deployed in one mission aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle into an
orbital plane of 514 km circular at 97.44 degrees inclination. After insertion, the satellite orbits were
raised to the desired mission altitude of 1125 km circular. Both Microsat-2a and Microsat-2b are
identical in their construction and operation.
The primary structure for the Microsat-2a and -2b test spacecraft was a box design measuring 1.1m
x 0.7m x 0.7m and carried the spacecraft flight computer, power system components, attitude
determination and control components, propulsion components, GPS receiver, and broadband,
telemetry, and command receivers and transmitters. The primary bus was mounted on the payload
truss system, which also carried communications panels, inter-satellite optical link transmitters and
receivers, star trackers, and a telemetry antenna. There were two 2x8 meter solar panels. Each
demonstration spacecraft has a total mass of approximately 400kg.
The attitude of each spacecraft is 3-axis stabilized and is dynamically controlled over each orbit to
maintain attitude position for two pointing modes of operation: broadband antenna (antennas to
nadir for testing) and solar array (solar arrays facing sun for charging).

Figure 14. Data sheet first satellites

Power is provided by solar panels designed to deliver sufficient power at the predicted end of
spacecraft life to not impair any test objectives. These two first Starlink prototypes were launched
as secondary payloads with the Spanish radar observation satellite (PAZ) on a Falcon 9 rocket from
Vandenberg Air Force Base.

FACING THE PROBLEMS

6. PROBLEM ANALYSIS

SpaceX Starlink constellation has been a topic of discussion over the last years. One of the main
causes for this issue is the fact that Starlink satellites are 99 % brighter than the rest of the objects
orbiting in the Low Earth Orbit and as a result, Starlink is expected to have the greatest light-
pollution impact. Current Starlink satellites have an average apparent magnitude of 5.5 when on-
station and brighter during orbit raise. Objects up to about magnitude 6.5-7 are visible to the naked
eye (naked-eye visibility is closer to 4 in most suburbs), and our goal is for Starlink satellites to be
magnitude 7 or better for almost all phases of their mission. There are two types of reflections off of
Starlink satellites: diffuse and specular. Diffuse reflections go in all directions. You can see diffuse
reflections as long as the satellite is visible. This is why Starlink satellites can create the "string of
pearls" effect in the night sky. When it does, the glint only lasts for a second or less. In fact,
specular surfaces tend to be the dimmest part of the satellite unless you are at just the right

Figure 16. Satellite visibility

Figure 15. Starlink first prototype

geometry.

It is worth to mention that satellites are visible from the ground at sunrise or sunset. This happens
because the satellites are illuminated by the Sun but people or telescopes on the ground are in the
dark. These conditions only happen for a fraction of Starlink's 90-minute orbit. Nevertheless, this
heavily influences any astronomical study, as it interferes with most of the equipment used by
astronomers. Not only visible through telescopes, but they can also be spotted by the naked eye, as
it has been stated over the last months in different parts of the world.

Furthermore, the impact of bright satellites passing over the field view of an observation on
professional ground-based observations, including image streaks, electronic crosstalk, effects on flat
fields, and ghost images. In addition, Starlink satellites are also likely to be bright thermal infrared
sources and affect radio frequency.
Starlink satellites accelerate the Kessler syndrome. The Kessler syndrome, also called the Kessler
effect, is a scenario in which the density of objects in Low Earth Orbit is high enough that collisions
between objects could cause a cascade where each collision generates space debris that increases
the likelihood of further collisions. One implication is that the distribution of debris in orbit could
render space activities and the use of satellites in specific orbital ranges impractical for many
generations. Every satellite, space probe, and manned mission has the potential to produce space
debris. A cascading Kessler syndrome becomes more likely as satellites in orbit increase in number.

Another raising issue is the environmental hazards that the satellites may be posing on space and on
Earth. Viasat formally requested an environmental assessment or more rigorous environmental
impact statement of Starlink before approving a SpaceX request to modify its existing license for
the system so that it can operate nearly 3,000 more satellites in lower orbits. It was said that, given
the sheer quantity of satellites, as well as the unprecedented nature of SpaceX’s treatment of them
as effectively expendable, they jeopardize the environmental, aesthetic, health and safety that seek
to protect the public interest. This is due to the fact that SpaceX has cited statistics that claimed a
failure rate as high as 7%.The main issue in this matter is that both the launch re-entry of Starlink
satellites poses environmental hazards, from the production of ozone-destroying chemicals by
launch vehicles to chemicals released in the atmosphere when satellites burn up on re-entry.

Finally, due to its low altitude, drag plays a central role in the design, since the orbital lifetime of a
LEO satellite is subjected to the integrated drag force experienced by the satellite over time. The
atmospheric drag, being the description of the force exerted on an object moving through the
atmospheric medium, having an orientation moving in the reverse direction of relative motion with
the resulting effect of impeding the motion of the object

7. ALTERNATIVES TO SOLVE THE PROBLEMS.

Due to the reasons aforementioned, Starlink is applying numerous changes in order to make their
satellites as efficient as possible, as well as satisfying the needs of astronomers and the general public.

The biggest contributors to Starlink being bright are the white diffuse phased array antennas on the
bottom of the satellite, the white diffuse parabolic antennas on the sides, and the white diffuse back side
of the solar array. These surfaces are all white to keep temperatures down so components do not
overheat. The key to making Starlink darker is to prevent sunlight from illuminating these white
surfaces and scattering via reflection toward observers on the ground. While in orbit raise and the
parking orbit the solar array dominates due to the much larger surface area. However, once the satellites
are at their operational altitude, the antennas dominate because the bright backside of the solar array is
shadowed.
Orbital brightness is an extremely difficult problem to tackle analytically, so they have been hard at
work on both ground and on-orbit testing. The solution: launching DarkSat, which is an experimental
satellite where the phased array and parabolic antennas were darkened, designed to tackle on-station

Figure 17. DarkSat: antennae mitigation on station

brightness.

This reduced the brightness of the satellite by about 55%, as was verified by differential optical
measurements comparing DarkSat to other nearby Starlink satellites, so they do not saturate observatory
detectors. This is nearly enough of a brightness reduction to make the satellite invisible to the naked eye
while on-station. However, black surfaces in space get hot and reflect some light (including in the IR
spectrum).

But there is one aspect that is been missed discussed, the orbit raises and parking orbit brightness. It is
currently being tested. Rolling the satellite so the vector of the Sun is in-plane with the satellite body, so
the satellite is knife-edge to the Sun. This would reduce the light reflected onto Earth by reducing the
surface area that receives light. This is easy to say but tricky to implement. Rolling knife edge to the
Sun can point one star tracker directly at the Earth and the other one directly at the Sun, which would
cause the satellite to have degraded attitude knowledge. There would be a small percentage of instances
that could occur during the manoeuvre.

Figure 18. New angle of orientation

The next model that has been launched is the VisorSat. The main remaining goal is to block the phased
arrays and antennae from direct view of the sun. The goal is to cover the white phased array antennas
and the parabolic antennas on the sides of the satellite. The satellite design itself has a RF-transparent
deployable visor for the satellite that blocks the light from reaching most of the satellite body and
all of the diffuse parts of the main body. This visor lays flat on the chassis during launch and
deploys during satellite separation, is nominally oriented perpendicular to the nadir direction and
the solar panel is positioned to intercept sunlight. Not only does this approach avoid the thermal
impacts from surface darkening the antennas, but it should also have a larger impact on brightness

Figure 19. VisorSat: antennae mitigation on station

reduction.

The bus appears to have both diffusive and secularly reflective surfaces. 4 Starlink-1436 was the
first VisorSat-design satellite to be launched. In this model, a Sun shade was added to the bus in
order to reduce the amount of sunlight reflected from the nadir side toward observers on the Earth's
surface. Beginning with the launch on the 7th of August 2020, all Starlink Satellites have been VisorSats

One of the main problems that SpaceX tackles with is drag, having developed two configurations:
shark-fin and open book. During orbit raise, brightness is driven by the open book configuration for
thrusting; and drag and sunlight reflects off both the antenna and array and minimizing their cross-
sectional area relative to the “wind”, otherwise the drag would cause them to fall out of orbit. However,
on station, brightness is driven by antennas since the satellite is in the shark-fin configuration during
sunset and sunrise. The change of these configurations plus the data of the orbits shared with the
scientists reduces the interferences caused by the gadgets in the telescopes.

This low-drag and thrusting flight configuration resembles an open book, where the solar array is laid
out flat in front of the vehicle. When Starlink satellites are orbit raising, they roll to a limited extent
about the velocity vector for power generation, always keeping the cross-sectional area minimized while
keeping the antennas facing Earth enough to stay in contact with the ground stations.

When the satellites reach their operational orbit of 550 km, drag is still a factor—so any inoperable
satellite will quickly decay—but the attitude control system is able to overcome this drag with the solar
array raised above the satellite in a vertical orientation that we call "shark-fin." This is the orientation in
which the satellite spends the majority of its operational life.
Were there to be any problems with the drag force, the satellite will de-orbit and burn up in the
atmosphere.

Figure 20. Orientation of satellites

POSSIBLE IMPROVEMENT OF SATELLITES

El estudio de Starlink se ha llevado acabo mediante CES Edupack, en esta plataforma, tenemos acceso a las
propiedades de cada uno de los materiales, podemos filtrar según nos parezca oportuno adaptando los
parámetros de búsqueda y realizar gráficos para la visualización del material y su respectiva familia.

Para los lanzamientos se está utilizando el cohete reutilizable Falcon 9, el cual ya ha probado su valía en
diferentes misiones y es reutilizable, bajando el precio de lanzamiento entre 10 y 100 veces. Que sea
reutilizable es gracias a sus múltiples propulsores de primera etapa. La Falcon 9 va soltando los satélites uno
por uno en el momento, lugar y velocidad exactos eliminando la necesidad de equipar motores en cada uno
de ellos para establecerse en la órbita. Esto, permite al Starlink no tener que soportar de manera directa los
1500ºC al penetrar en la atmósfera.

Además, sabemos que Starlink tiene una vida útil de 5 a 7 años, y una vez esta ha finalizado, estos se
desorbitan y se queman en la atmósfera terrestre en un periodo de uno a cinco años, a pesar de que esto
podría resultar bastante tiempo pues los satélites estarían en órbita durante aproximadamente 10 años, podría
ser mucho más. La razón de que no sea así es su baja latitud en comparación con otros.

Los Starlink permiten una alta calidad de conectividad a Internet pues se basa en la propagación de las ondas
electromagnéticas por el vacío, donde consiguen una velocidad muy superior a cualquier conexión
terrestre por fibra óptica de hoy en día. Concretamente un 47% más rápido.

Teniendo el propósito con el que se han creado estos, y sabiendo las condiciones espaciales que tendrán que
soportar, podemos analizar cómo se ha realizado el análisis mediante CES.

En primer lugar, hablamos de sus thermal properties:

- Specific heat capacity: en cuanto a esta propiedad, podríamos entrar en discusión pues queremos que
nuestro satélite se enfríe o se caliente utilizando la mínima energía posible, por lo que recurriríamos
a un material con high heat capacity. Sin embargo, cuando el satélite esté cayendo hacia la
atmósfera, necesitamos que este libere toda su energía antes de enfriarse, pues la energía sale en
forma de calor. Por este motivo, hemos optado por aquellos materiales cuya capacidad sea superior a
los light metals e inferior a los heavy ones.

- Service temperature: it is the temperature at which a material can be used for an extended period
without significant problems. Hemos avanzado antes la vida útil de Starlink, pero cabe mencionar,
que este debe soportar temperaturas que oscilan entre los -128ºC y los 93ºC durante las órbitas de 90
minutos alrededor de la Tierra.
 - Thermal shock resistance: this is a fundamental property in our material since it is the material
ability to withstand an abruptly change in temperatures. A high value for thermal shock resistance let
us identify those materials that are more resistant to failure due to rapid temperature changes. For
that reason, we look for ductile materials as can be metals or polymers, keeping in mind that the less
use of metal the better. We have stablished this property in between 200ºC and 500ºC.

Secondly, we should analyze the fracture properties of the material. It measures the resistance of a material
to crack propagation. We use this parameter to identify materials that can resist crack propagation. Ductile
materials have higher fracture toughness values and are less susceptible to crack propagation and sudden
failure. We adjusted the parameter to a high value: 3 MPa.m^0.5.

The mechanical properties of a material are those properties that involve a reaction to an applied load. They
determine the range of usefulness of a material and establish the service life that can be expected. The fact
that we have not included them in our study does not mean they have not been considered to. The Falcon 9 is
used in order to take the satellites to its correspondent orbits, this vehicle will suffer the weight, thrust, and
aerodynamic forces, lift and drag, when being launched from Earth. Focusing in satellites, the only load that
will be applied to them is microgravity, and so, its mechanical properties are playing a minor role. If we
study one, the most important will be stress since it measures the force applied to a certain cross-sectional
area of an object.

Then, we could talk about the price that it should approximately cost per kg of material, but it will not make
much more difference since we are talking about a multi-millionaire project that gets economic funds from
NASA and sells the connectivity via Starlink per an amount of 500€, so any material which is going to be
used is already “economizado”.

With all these considerations, we have obtained the following results:

Nevertheless, we would like to talk about one of the main purposes of Starlink, the intersatellite connection
in order to achieve the fastest Internet connection possible. For it, we must consider the electrical
conductivity of the material. It measures the ease that an electric charge moves through a material. We have
been talking about the most common materials, and that Starlink is formed largely by aluminum. This is the
best option since it accomplishes the desired conditions. Here there are the materials that passed :

MATERIAL COMPARISON
Knowing what materials are mostly used in the satellites, we have searched for those which are principally
made of titanium or aluminum. Nevertheless, these are more suitable when they are alloyed with aluminum,
vanadium or iron, and silicon or titanium, respectively.

When talking about aluminum, we know that when alloyed, its mechanical properties are improved, gaining
a great relationship ratio between resistance/price and resistance/weight thanks to its relatively low density. It
is also worth mentioning its resistance to corrosion and radioactivity, something essential since the satellite
will operate in an environment with total exposure to the Sun, without a protective atmosphere. With regards
to Starlink’s purpose, we have an acceptable thermal and electrical conductivity.

Out of all the different types of aluminum, we have considered the following three types:

Table aluminum.

The aluminum which best fits for the satellite design is Aluminum, 6156, T62, clad. The reason behind this is
that Al-Si-Mg-Cu-Mn weldable alloy, developed for the lower portion of the fuselage, has the highest
electrical conductivity compared to the rest. This property is fundamental for the satellite so as to accomplish
its function, having a relatively high thermal shock resistance. This could look contradictory, but it will make
the satellite survive the entrance and decompose itself once it has deorbited.
Then, another material that is commonly used is the titanium, whose demand has increased considerably, that
is thanks to its mechanical resistance. Its other special characteristic is its resistance to corrosion, maintaining
itself at extreme temperatures that aluminum cannot reach.

The most commonly used materials for titanium alloys are:

Table titanium.

In the end, were we to choose one type of titanium it would be Titanium, beta alloy, Ti13V-11Cr-3Al,
solution treated & aged. This material is satisfactory since has the least thermal shock resistance, this being a
solution to the problem aforementioned: the fact that titanium is one of those materials that could survive the
fall to the Earth.

Nonetheless, the most desirable material when constructing satellites is the carbon fiber. This material is
extremely light, and moreover, it has an extraordinary function as thermic insulator when revesting the
metals and a great capacity to put up with abrupt changes in temperature. This last quality is the fact that
makes us choose aluminum as the prior material, we have talked about the little useful life which Starlink are
characterized to have, and in addition, carbon fiber has an extremely poor electrical conductivity. This last
fact makes them a secondary component.

When analyzing the materials that accomplished the following prerequisites:

Table common requisites, photo.

We have obtained 340 materials which fitted, but not all of them had the use we wanted to give them, also,
we wanted to put the less metals possible, since even if they reach characteristics like thermal shock
resistance or conductivity, they are much more complex to disintegrate in the atmosphere. This way, we have
obtained the next materials, plus the before mentioned aluminum and titanium:

Table chosen.

For example, the Silicon carbide (reaction bonded) which has been already mentioned, would be used for the
mirrors that helped in the intersatellite connection; the Stainless steel, austenitic, AISI 303, cold drawn is a
component used in order to build the ion thruster and so, is the one with less thermal shock resistance
between the ones that have resulted. We can also talk about the Duralcan Al-15Al2O3 (p) (W2A15A-T6), it is
a strange material because it is not normally mentioned but is worth noticing since it can be used either to
increase the absolute service life of a particular rim design or to decrease weight and maintain the same
absolute service life for a new rim design.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, Starlink, the project developed by SpaceX has a very bright future since Americans have
accepted its existence and at least the 50% of them, who have optic fiber contracted, are considering the
change to this new faster satellite connection.

Nevertheless, we will also remark all the problems that this project has developed. First, the main problem,
the one with astronomers since Starlink is creating a high pollution of the vision of the outer space as they
are brighter than other satellites in orbit. They are resulting the ones who cause interferences with the
observatories in Earth, which do not have the option to go outside the atmosphere since it would be so
expensive. Secondly, we also have the Kessler syndrome, this has a high probability to happen since Elon
Musk’s satellites are the most numerous objects in orbit nowadays and the company does not mind losing
one of them, so are not worried of how the orbit of them could affect others, this can be seen in an accident
which took place recently with ESA. And finally, the damage to the atmosphere its disintegration will cause,
because how much do we think the atmosphere can resist the impact of hundreds of satellites per year which
have to been decomposed thanks to her, in addition to the increase of polluting gases thanks to humanity.
There is an ongoing plan in order to reduce greenhouse effect, but then, it should be another one which
restrict this too. At the end, Starlink’s problems have made people collect signatures so they can be
abolished.

The company has put measures to reduce the light the satellites provide, VisorSat, even if in order to find this
solution they had to launch the original design and its first solution, DarkSat. But with all the problems
treaties, the solutions they are providing are insufficient. Moreover, there is a lack of information per part of
SpaceX since there is no official data about how the Starlink are made, what makes us think how good this
idea is being developed. We know its principal composite, aluminum, and how other components are made,
but we wanted to find enough materials in order to compare them and have an idea about how they had
designed them. For this purpose, we used CES Edupack as it has been said before.

When analyzing the materials, the results were satisfactory since it gave us the ones that we knew that were
already part of the satellite, and some more new interesting ones which we studied in order to see if they
could result satisfactory for the model. These were around 340 materials which passed our filter, but only 15
accomplished the objectives of the second selection process, resulting idoneous for us. With these second
selection we have improved Starlink since we have looked for materials that will disintegrate faster, and so,
we could minimize the impact on atmosphere. This way, we can have a better idea about how the satellites
have been developed. The other problems should be a change in how SpaceX is performing the project.

Starlink needs to improve itself since even if the idea is clear to implement and the objective will be
accomplished, they are not taking into account some other factors that are key to the project.

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1. Starlink system objective......................................................................................................1
Figure 2. Starlink seen from the Earth.................................................................................................2
Figure 3. Starlink Prototype (Tintin B)................................................................................................2
Figure 4. Starlink design......................................................................................................................2
Figure 5. Satellite dish installation components...................................................................................3
Figure 6. Steerable service range of Ku-band beams at second shell..................................................4
Figure 7. Ideal and designed horizon plane..........................................................................................5
Figure 8. Dynamic satellite coverage...................................................................................................6
Figure 9. Starlink satellites visible from London (52N) in summer....................................................6
Figure 10. Example: Starlink satellites visible from Dunedin (46S) in winter....................................7
Figure 11. Krypton-powered ion thruster.............................................................................................8
Figure 12. Inter-satellite laser link example.........................................................................................8
Figure 13. Star-tracker and Collision avoidance system......................................................................9
Figure 14. Data sheet first satellites...................................................................................................12
Figure 15. Starlink first prototype......................................................................................................12
Figure 16. Satellite visibility..............................................................................................................13
Figure 17. DarkSat: antennae mitigation on station...........................................................................15
Figure 18. New angle of orientation...................................................................................................15
Figure 19. VisorSat: antennae mitigation on station.........................................................................16
Figure 20. Orientation of satellites.....................................................................................................17

LIST OF TABLES
No se encuentran elementos de tabla de ilustraciones.

LIST OF EQUATIONS
No se encuentran elementos de tabla de ilustraciones.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starlink#Constellation_design_and_status
file:///Users/carmenvesescantoicloud.com/Downloads/Technical%20Attachment.pdf
https://www.androidauthority.com/what-is-starlink-1134426/
https://directory.eoportal.org/web/eoportal/satellite-missions/s/starlink#:~:text=The%20satellites%20are
%20designed%20autonomously,an%20altitude%20of%20550%20km
https://www.starlink.com/faq
https://www.azom.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=12034
https://www.spacelegalissues.com/space-law-the-kessler-syndrome/
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2003.07446.pdf
https://spacenews.com/viasat-asks-fcc-to-perform-environmental-review-of-starlink/
https://www.spacex.com/updates/starlink-update-04-28-2020/index.html
https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/2101/2101.00374.pdf
https://www.cnet.com/home/internet/starlink-satellite-internet-explained/
https://techcrunch.com/2019/05/24/spacex-reveals-more-starlink-info-after-launch-of-first-60-satellites/
https://www.inverse.com/innovation/the-abstract-everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-starlink
http://spaceref.com/astronomy/spacex-publishes-update-on-starlink-satellite-brightness-issue.html
https://www.nasa.gov/smallsat-institute/sst-soa-2020/passive-deorbit-systems/
https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/aerospace/satellites/spacex-claims-to-have-redesigned-its-starlink-
satellites-to-eliminate-casualty-risks
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/
351372656_The_Parameters_Comparison_of_the_Starlink_LEO_Satellites_Constellation_for_Different
_Orbital_Shells
https://www.reddit.com/r/Starlink/comments/jzozv3/every_answer_from_the_starlink_team_ama/
https://www.spacex.com/updates/starlink-update-04-28-2020/index.html
https://danielmarin.naukas.com/2020/05/03/como-oscurecer-los-satelites-starlink-para-que-no-molesten-
a-los-astronomos/
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=quantum+fracture+starlink
https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/starlink-v1-0.htm
https://spaceflightnow.com/2019/05/15/spacex-releases-new-details-on-starlink-satellite-design/
https://techcrunch.com/2019/05/14/spacex-kicks-off-its-space-based-internet-service-tomorrow-with-
60-satellite-starlink-launch/
https://spacenews.com/spacex-adds-laser-crosslinks-to-polar-starlink-satellites/

The Starlink Project, developed by SpaceX is expected to have a bright future aheas. A recent survey
proved that North Americans accepted and at least, 50% of the ones who had optic fiber are considering
the change of internet connection to the one transmitted by satellites.

Nevertheless, it must be remarked that this project is not without a flaw. The objective of this research
was to examine its main problems and propose new alternatives so as to solve the ongoing issues.
The first problem which Starlink is facing is the fact that their satellites reflect too much light, thus
creating high light pollution, which affects astronomers and the general public.
Secondly, launching such an amount of satellites to space promotes the Kessler Syndrome. The
likelihood of this happening is increasing since Elon Musk’s satellites are the most numerous objects in
orbit nowadays, and the company has proven to consider its satellites as expendable. This can be seen
due to the recent accident which took place this past September, when the chances of one Starlink
satellites colliding with an ESA satellite where beyond the limit and SpaceX did nothing to solve the
problem.
Moreover, there is a raising issue with regards to the impact that these satellites may have when they
decompose in the atmosphere. It is very unlikely that the Earth’s atmosphere can resist hundreds of
satellites decomposing each year due to Starlink’s limited life expectancy. In the end, Starlink’s problems
have made people collect petitions so as to abolish this project.

The company has put measures to reduce the light the satellites reflect, having as a final prototype VisorSat,
even if in order to find this solution they had to launch the original design and its first solution, DarkSat. But
with all the problems solutions, the alternatives they are providing are insufficient. Moreover, there is a lack
of information from the SpaceX company, since there is no official data about how the Starlink are made.
We know its principal composite, aluminum, and how other components are made, but the main goal was to
find enough materials so as to compare them with our proposed solutions and have a precise and realistic
idea on the design of such important satellites. For this purpose, we used CES Edupack as beforementioned.

When analyzing the materials, the results were satisfactory since it gave us the ones that we knew that were
already part of the satellite, and some more new interesting ones which we studied in order to see if they
could result satisfactory for the model. These were around 340 materials which passed our filter, but only 15
accomplished the objectives of the second selection process, resulting idoneous for us. With these second
selection we have improved Starlink since we have looked for materials that will disintegrate faster, and so,
we could minimize the impact on atmosphere. This way, we can have a better idea about how the satellites
have been developed. The other problems should be a change in how SpaceX is performing the project.