Elon Musk’s Starlink Satellites branded ‘space junk that blocks night sky’ – but he wants to put 40,000 in orbit

ELON Musk has launched hundreds of Starlink 'internet satellites' into space – but critics say he's flooding Earth's orbit with 'space junk'.

The billionaire space mogul's probes have proved highly controversial, but Musk still plans to launch tens of thousands more.

Starlink is Musk's bid to create a network of satellites in space that will beam internet back down to Earth.

More than 300 have already been launched, with plans to launch more than 42,000 in total.

The satellites orbit 341 miles above Earth, and could one day make the internet significantly faster.

This week, Musk's satellites have been visible across the UK, as fast-moving bright lights zipping across the night sky.

But despite his good intentions, Musk is facing growing criticism from the astronomy community.

There have been concerns that humanity could be trapped on Earth by too much space junk in Earth's orbit.