SpaceX Missed Some Urgent Emails About a Satellite Standoff
According to the latest numbers, there are nearly 2,000 working satellites circling Earth right now. Round and round they go, quietly weaving a web of technology that helps power the world. Sometimes they hit a snag. A satellite can find itself on a dangerous collision course with another object—usually a piece of space junk, sometimes another satellite.
This is the scenario that played out between the European Space Agency and SpaceX earlier this month, on the Labor Day holiday in the United States. Orbital data showed a probability of collision that was becoming worrisomely high. Unless someone made a move, the satellites could smash into each other within days. A crash could be disastrous. So ESA sent SpaceX an email.
Email, believe it or not, is a common form of communication between satellite operators, whether they work for an intergovernmental agency of 22 nations or a company founded by Elon Musk. Sometimes they might use the phone. There is no international
