Comment on Starlink quietly lost over $250M in burned satellites this summerComments−vardump2yI think they're prepared to lose satellites, that's the nature of large swarms.Some losses might be intentional for safety after damage or low propellant. They really can't afford to put any debris on their orbits.−kvdveer2yIIRC debris is not a major concern in the orbits Starlink is using. There is a non-trivial amount of atmospheric drag. This will slow down anything without active propulsion, causing them to drop from orbit, and eventually burn up.
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I think they're prepared to lose satellites, that's the nature of large swarms.
Some losses might be intentional for safety after damage or low propellant. They really can't afford to put any debris on their orbits.
IIRC debris is not a major concern in the orbits Starlink is using. There is a non-trivial amount of atmospheric drag. This will slow down anything without active propulsion, causing them to drop from orbit, and eventually burn up.