A short retrograde burn could send the 250kg mass straight down onto (assumingly) any launchpad-sized area on Earth
That does not work like that. Burn will just slow down 250kg and it begin to lower its orbit. As it reach higher layers of atmosphere, it begin to burn, loosing speed. At the moment it will get to stratosphere it will be already boiling.
To gracefully enter atmosphere you need nearly same amount of fuel that is used to launch that mass to the orbit or heavy heat protection to resist temperatures as spaceships and ballistic missiles have. AFAIK, starlink staellites have none of that on board. They are just aluminium cans with solar panels outside. So, they will just burn high in atmosphere.
You could target anything as a target for starlink satellite, but it is not the right projectile to reach the target. Also, the precision will be not very exciting, since even if burning cloud of aluminium will be able to get close to surface, it will not have engines or flaps to correct trajectory disturbed by winds and starlink satellite aerodynamics.
Even deorbited few tons satellites barely reach surface as single piece, not talking about being precise.
To be able to do the task you talk about, spacecraft have to be designed for that. From what I know about starlink ones, they had not.
IDK, if only starlink staellite outfit is just an external cover, and all their volume inside is reentry module of some kind, but then it is not clear how they are able to do their current internet job.
That does not work like that. Burn will just slow down 250kg and it begin to lower its orbit. As it reach higher layers of atmosphere, it begin to burn, loosing speed. At the moment it will get to stratosphere it will be already boiling.
To gracefully enter atmosphere you need nearly same amount of fuel that is used to launch that mass to the orbit or heavy heat protection to resist temperatures as spaceships and ballistic missiles have. AFAIK, starlink staellites have none of that on board. They are just aluminium cans with solar panels outside. So, they will just burn high in atmosphere.
You could target anything as a target for starlink satellite, but it is not the right projectile to reach the target. Also, the precision will be not very exciting, since even if burning cloud of aluminium will be able to get close to surface, it will not have engines or flaps to correct trajectory disturbed by winds and starlink satellite aerodynamics.
Even deorbited few tons satellites barely reach surface as single piece, not talking about being precise.
To be able to do the task you talk about, spacecraft have to be designed for that. From what I know about starlink ones, they had not.
IDK, if only starlink staellite outfit is just an external cover, and all their volume inside is reentry module of some kind, but then it is not clear how they are able to do their current internet job.