The study recommends designing constellations with fewer, higher capacity, higher quality satellites with longer operational lives to reduce the risk to people on the ground and any damage to the atmosphere, and suggests that states and national regulators require independent verification of claims of full 'demisability' and evaluate collective casualty risks from entire constellations.

This work could help in determining busy intersections for satellites and preventing collisions as space agencies continue to launch new technology into low Earth orbit.

SpaceX will move about 4,400 Starlink satellites to a lower orbit this year to better control risks and improve safety, the company announced Friday.