SpaceX moving Starlink down to VLEO (where no one else operates) mitigates existential collision risks:
Starlink altitudes:
- V1: 550 km, now <500 km
- V2: 450–500 km
- DTC: 350 km
- V3: 350 km
At 350km, they will have the orbit all to themselves. Any debris, defunct satellites, or collisions will deorbit within a few months. Plus, being closer to Earth means Starlink performance improves substantially.
However, we cannot mitigate risk when another operator maneuvers without sharing a predicted trajectory that includes the burn.
This is the biggest risk in LEO