Glad to see all the brilliant scientists of the bear pit have concluded the MIT department of aeronautics and astronautics have no idea what they're talking about.
From the study:
"Greenhouse gases like C02, trapped in the lower atmosphere, pull heat down from the upper atmosphere. The cooling effect on the upper atmosphere decreases density and, in turn, reduces atmospheric drag on satellites, which would normally pull them back down to Earth. As a result, the lifetime of satellites in low Earth orbit may be extended.
The upper atmosphere can only carry so many satellites before things start to get dangerous. In the new study, researchers aimed to evaluate the “satellite carrying capacity” of certain altitudes of interest, or “shells", in low Earth orbit by creating simulations of carbon emissions scenarios.
Increased emissions over the next century, the researchers found, will likely contribute to reduced carrying capacity in low Earth orbit. Based on this scenario, they estimate that the carrying capacity — or the amount of satellites that can safely exist within the altitudes of 200 and 1,000 kilometers — could be reduced by 50 to 66 percent by the end of this century.
“Our behavior with greenhouse gases here on Earth over the past 100 years is having an effect on how we operate satellites over the next 100 years,” says study author Richard Linares, associate professor in MIT’s Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AeroAstro).
“The upper atmosphere is in a fragile state as climate change disrupts the status quo,” adds lead author William Parker, a graduate student in AeroAstro. “At the same time, there’s been a massive increase in the number of satellites launched, especially for delivering broadband internet from space. If we don't manage this activity carefully and work to reduce our emissions, space could become too crowded, leading to more collisions and debris.”
That the atmosphere is literally shrinking doesn't concern anyone here is funny, but even funnier is that people have been mischaracterizing Linares studies for atleast a decade as some kind of evidence that mixing a bunch of historically high concentrations of CO2 into the atmosphere won't have any sort of impact on it's retention of heat.
Ya know, because he NEEDS the money.
www.snipershide.com
