I think there would be a Kessler Syndrome within a few weeks of an anti-satellite campaign at which point trying to launch replacements wouldn't make any sense.

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eagerpace 2 days ago | parent | next [-]

No, there wouldn’t be. Space is huge. There aren’t that many satellites, and even the largest are relatively small.

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tatjam 2 days ago | parent | next [-]

I presume "anti-satellite campaign" means hundreds of anti-satellite missiles launched into LEO / MEO, at which point we do have a serious problem

	▲	eagerpace 2 days ago \| parent [-]
		Kessler Syndrome is a very specific accusation. It would be a disaster for sure, but not KS.

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detourdog 2 days ago | parent | prev [-]

They are small until they are blown into a million pieces.

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toss1 2 days ago | parent | prev [-]

Wouldn't that depend a lot on what and how much were targeted?

Seems a sufficient number of satellites in a particular orbital altitude and inclination would be required to create a self-sustaining cascade.

Even then, the Delta-V of tens to hundreds of m/sec to for violent intercepts seems unlikely to eject debris into different orbital regimes; e.g., it takes nearly 4km/sec Delta-V to move from LEO to Geosynchronous orbit. So, totally Kessler-Syndrome-destroying the LEO orbital range would still leave GEO orbital range available...?

	▲	jordanb 2 days ago \| parent [-]
		Depending on the density of debris in LEO it might be very difficult to launch through to the higher orbits.