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This is why the Space Force is unironically a great idea.

> I don't think anyone has the ability to shoot down enough Starlink satellites to make a difference.

Not with rockets, but maybe with lasers? What damage can a single one do? Could a country deploy them at specific orbits to have enough coverage to destroy a sufficient amount?

China most probably have the resources for that if they want to

Turning one satellite into a cloud of debris would suffice, Kessler syndrome would do the rest.

We are very very far from that happening. Even with most satellites being in the same torus around earth, if every single one in orbit right now were to instantly shatter, each piece would have something like a 1000sqkm volume to roam in.

*area

I meant km3 :)

Debris would deorbit rapidly, starlink satellites are relatively low-altitude.