US EditionSolar Storms Are Killing Satellites, New Study Warns
- A NASA-led study found that increased solar activity between 2020 and 2024 caused SpaceX's Starlink satellites to reenter Earth’s atmosphere earlier than expected.
- As the Sun nears the peak of its 11-year cycle, increased solar activity generates magnetic storms that warm the upper atmosphere and boost atmospheric drag, causing satellites to lose altitude more quickly.
- Research showed Starlink satellites orbiting below 300 kilometers burned up about 10 days earlier during storms, with lifespans shortened from around 15 days to roughly 5 days in final decay stages.
- Denny Oliveira noted that a reduction of 10 to 12 days in satellite lifespan could severely challenge SpaceX's ability to manage controlled reentry of Starlink satellites, even as the company aims to increase its constellation to 42,000 satellites.
- Earlier, faster reentries increase risks of debris reaching the ground and add to growing space congestion, suggesting more attention is needed to satellite reentry management and space debris mitigation.
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focoinformativo.siteAtmospheric expansion caused by the solar peak is dramatically accelerating the fall of Starlink satellites
The Sun Is Causing Starlink Satellites To Drop From Space
The Sun has approached the solar maximum of its 11 year cyclic sun flare activity. That means larger geomagnetic storms approaching the Earth and its low orbit satellites. Starlink satellites are susceptible to the increase of atmospheric drag caused...
With more than 7,000 Starlink satellites from SpaceX currently orbiting the Earth, scientists have had an unprecedented opportunity to study a phenomenon that they could not previously analyze on this scale, revealing something unexpected: the Sun is destroying these satellites faster than expected, New Scientist reported. (Continue reading...) The entry Unexpected Threat is destroying Musk satellites was first published in Remolacha - Dominican…
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