Kessler syndrome — a runaway cascade of orbital collisions — is a genuine long-term concern for space sustainability, and Starlink’s scale makes it a fair thing to scrutinise. But the specific claim that Starlink “will” cause it is misleading. Starlink satellites orbit at roughly 550 km, low enough that atmospheric drag naturally de-orbits a dead satellite within about five years with no intervention — the opposite of the high-altitude debris that worries scientists most, which can linger for centuries. Each satellite has autonomous collision-avoidance that performs manoeuvres using data from US Space Command, and SpaceX de-orbits failed units deliberately. Aerospace experts who study the problem generally describe Starlink’s orbit as among the more responsible regimes, precisely because it self-cleans. Real risks exist and coordination is needed, but “Starlink will make space unusable” isn’t supported by the orbital physics.