40 of the 49 SpaceX satellites that were put into orbit since February 3, 2022 to expand the Starlink internet network, were destroyed by solar radiation, which is expected to be harmful to current and future technology. , as reported TheNewsweek. In other words, even small solar storms could have serious consequences for the astronautical and economic spheres.
Chinese and American researchers studied this fact and collected their conclusions in the article Revealing space weather during the Starlink satellite destruction event, published in Space Weather magazine on August 6, 2022.
According to this study, the solar storm caused SpaceX an economic loss of several tens of millions of dollars. However, the loss of almost 40 satellites is not great considering that they have another 3,000 in orbit. For other companies, the loss of a single satellite could represent a huge loss.
“Due to the existence of the Earth’s upper atmosphere, a large number of satellites and space debris operating between 100 and 600 km (62 to 373 mi) in altitude are significantly affected by space weather through atmospheric drag. ”, was another of the conclusions of this study.
How did solar storms destroy SpaceX satellites?
A wave of energetic solar particles and radiation flooded the planet due to an explosion on the sun’s surface. Such solar flares are known as space weather and have effects on both the planet’s atmosphere and technology, such as radio signal outage, power grid interference, and signal disturbance on train lines. , which could could cause delays or even a dangerous accident.
When the solar particles reached Earth, they heated the atmosphere, raising the density of the air 130 miles from where the SpaceX satellites were sent. The idea was that the satellites would use thrusters to raise their altitudes to desired orbits. The problem was that they couldn’t do it in time, so 38 to 40 satellites sank deeper and deeper as they moved through the thickening residual atmosphere, before burning up at thousands of miles per hour.
According to SpaceX, it deliberately launches the satellites at a very low altitude, so that they are quickly destroyed in the atmosphere in case of failure and do not become floating space debris.
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