Space X CEO Elon musk reported that the company lost forty out of the forty-nine-star link satellites launched last week into orbit. A geomagnetic storm caused the damage.
The aerospace company successfully deployed the satellites on Thursday, February 3. Unfortunately, disaster struck the next day, destroying more than forty satellites.
According to the “National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,” the solar flare on January 29 caused the storm responsible for destroying the satellites. Before the company launched the satellites, NOAA warned of a geomagnetic storm.
“It’s a quite common situation in terms of geomagnetic activity to see a storm the strength of the one that knocked out the Starlink satellites last week,” Palmerio said.
Space X noted that although the satellites will burn, they won’t produce any orbital debris. They did this to assure people of their safety.
“The speed and intensity of the storm caused the atmospheric drag to climb to levels 50% higher than previous launches”, the aerospace said in a statement, “Making it harder for satellites to reach their orbital position.”
According to the aerospace company, Starlink attempted to maintain all satellites in “safe mode” to decrease atmospheric struggle, it failed to get the satellites to their destination successfully. The remaining surviving satellites will continue to their designated destination for orbiting.
“Around 80% of those satellites were significantly impacted by a geomagnetic storm Friday”, SpaceX announced.
According to an astrophysicist, losing the satellites was a significant hit and loss for Space X because they are known for their success in satellite launching. “In the context of historic satellites launches, the company has been pretty successful.” He noted.
Although the company does not share the cost of either the falcon or the Starlink satellites, the lost forty satellites might affect the mission causing substantial financial losses. People believe that Space X is a leading company in rocket launching.
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