Elon Musk’s SpaceX has not fared too well in the past week, after nearly 80% of its recently launched Starlink satellites fell out of orbit amid a powerful geomagnetic storm.
SpaceX this week revealed that 40 of its 49 satellites recently launched with the Falcon 9 rocket were lost, and are now en route to Earth’s atmosphere where they will ultimately incinerate before touching ground. The Satellites were initially situated approximately 210km above the Earth where they were subject to an initial system checkout before being moved via a controlled flight to higher orbit. In the event the testing fails, the satellites are designed to succumb to atmospheric drag and swiftly deorbit.
However, SpaceX’s design suddenly took a turn for the worse, when the satellites— which were still in low orbit— were suddenly met with a geomagnetic storm last week. The storms, which are caused by solar winds, are referred to as a duration of “rapid magnetic field variation” by the US Geological Survey. The company attempted to command the satellites to “take cover from the storm,” but given that the atmospheric drag was 50% more powerful than normal, 40 of the satellites were unable to embark on orbit-raising drills.
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Given that the satellites will burn once they enter the atmosphere, SpaceX assured that they pose “zero collision risk” with nearby satellites, and will not leave any space debris on the ground. Nevertheless, the company’s project has faced criticism in the past, with astronomers arguing that the growing number of satellites in low orbit are intruding on space observations and research.
In fact, China has been the latest to take aim at SpaceX, accusing the US government of not taking responsibility for issues caused by Elon Musk’s satellites. Last year, the company’s satellites came too close to China’s space station, but the latest geomagnetic storm appeared to be the final straw, prompting Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian to address the issue. “While in orbit Chinese astronauts were facing real and urgent safety threats,” he said. “After the accident, China’s competent authorities tried multiple times to reach the U.S. by email but received no reply.”
Information for this briefing was found via SpaceX. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
