It was only on Thursday that Elon Musk launched 49 satellites for his Starlink Internet. They should orbit the earth in a fixed orbit. A day later, however, a collided geomagnetic storm with our atmosphere. The effects of such an event can now be observed on the Space X aircraft.
Consequential solar storm: satellites burn up in the atmosphere
A solar storm was already expected on February 2nd. As a current update from SpaceX shows, such a phenomenon also occurred on Friday afterwards. This apparently had an unexpected effect on the launch of the SpaceX satellites on February 3rd.
A total of 40 of the 49 copies are said to have been compromised by the impact of the geomagnetic storm. The result: They can no longer reach the orbit they are aiming for and will re-enter the earth’s atmosphere and burn up in the process.
This happened because of the geomagnetic storm
In detail, the solar storm ensured that the atmospheric pull on the satellites increased. SpaceX immediately put the aircraft into a safe mode and performed a flight maneuver to minimize the train. However, the analysis shows that the satellites could not get out of safe mode and therefore cannot climb to their actual destination.
SpaceX confirmed on Tuesday that the affected satellites are “re-entering or will re-enter Earth’s atmosphere.” However, they are designed in such a way that they burn completely without leaving any residue on the ground. They should also pose no risk to other satellites.
Sources: SpaceX