The 40 SpaceX satellites launched a week ago were swept away by the intense solar wind

Of the 49 satellites launched on the 3rd (local time) and 3rd (local time), 40 were incinerated in the Earth's atmosphere due to the solar wind. Provided by Space X

Of the 49 Starlink satellites spaceX recently launched, 40 were swept away by the strong solar wind, failed to land in orbit, and are expected to crash into the atmosphere and burn up.

SpaceX, a private U.S. space company, said that of the 49 Starlink satellites launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on the 3rd (local time), 40 deviated from the predetermined low Earth orbit due to the impact of geomagnetic storms and entered or planned to enter the Earth's atmosphere again. Announced on the 8th. SpaceX added that the off-orbit satellite would not be at risk of colliding with other satellites, and the debris would not fall to the ground because it would burn and dissipate due to friction when it re-entered the atmosphere.

Starlink satellites are a group of satellites launched by SpaceX in 2019 to build a global high-speed internet network. SpaceX plans to deploy 12,000 satellites in the late 2020s and has launched nearly 2,000 satellites so far, with about 60 satellites each.

SpaceX3 launched another 49 satellites on the day. However, due to the influence of geomagnetic storms, these satellites entered safe mode on the 4th.

A geomagnetic storm is a situation in which the Earth's magnetic field is temporarily affected by the solar wind. On the 29th of last month, the sun emitted high-energy particles and the solar wind began. When this solar wind reached the Earth's magnetosphere on the 2nd of this month, a magnetic storm occurred.

SpaceX explains that "atmospheric density increases as the temperature of the atmosphere caused by the solar wind increases" and "atmospheric resistance increases by up to 50 percent." As the density of the atmosphere increases, the satellites that must pass through it are subject to greater resistance from the atmosphere.

SpaceX said: "We tried to effectively cover geomagnetic storms by switching satellites to safe mode.

Solar activity repeats the minimum and maximum values every 11 years. Solar activity is currently getting stronger and is expected to peak around 2025. For this reason, experts note that the same problem could be repeated in the coming years.

Hugh Lewis, a professor at the University of Southampton in the UK and a space debris expert, said: "With solar activity at its peak, I am sure there will be more extremes. ”