40 Starlink satellites fell to Earth, and NASA is worried that Starlink satellites will have accidents in the future!
Recently, the Winter Olympics on Earth are in full swing, and the sky above the earth is not calm, and a splendid fireworks show is being staged!
Last week, SpaceX SpaceX, the richest man on Earth, Launched 49 Starlink satellites into orbit. So far, the company has launched nearly 2,000 broadband launch satellites into space and plans to launch another 40,000. Unfortunately, the satellites it launched last week happened to encounter a magnetic storm that caused as many as 40 satellites to de-orbit.
What is a geomagnetic storm?
Geomagnetism or solar storms are major disturbances in the Earth's magnetosphere (the area around the Earth that is controlled by the Earth's magnetic field), and it occurs when the solar wind engages in a very efficient energy exchange with the space environment around the Earth, which is generated by our magnetic field and protects us from most of the particles released by the sun. But this phenomenon increases the resistance of the satellites, causing them to de-orbit.
The worry is that after the geomagnetic storm, these satellites belong to the Earth, and it is unclear how many satellites have returned to the Earth's atmosphere, but the scene of some starlink satellites burning during the return process has been captured by local residents, who said that the meteors were spectacular. However, there are also residents who are worried about whether the satellite debris will pose a threat to life on the ground, and experts say that the Starlink satellites are not very large and do not have large rocket engines, so the possibility of leaving anything in these return modules and reaching the surface of the Earth is very small, and they will burn in the atmosphere.
Indeed, according to the data given by Space Exploration Technology, the Starlink satellites are about 25 centimeters long, 13 centimeters wide, and 250 kilograms, so it is almost impossible for these objects to leave anything behind after re-entry into the atmosphere, which means that they will not hit people on Earth. While SpaceX has yet to confirm whether the object captured by the camera is its satellite, the company has released an explanation for the cause of the failure.
The cause of the accident
According to a blog post on SpaceX's website, the 49 satellites launched on Feb. 3 were "severely affected" by a february 4 magnetic storm, causing as many as 40 of them to lose altitude and re-enter The Earth's atmosphere. This is the result of a combination of factors. First, the Starlink satellites are launched into a relatively low orbit around the Earth, so that if any technical problems arise, they will de-orbit relatively quickly, reducing the risk of collision.
However, geomagnetic storms warm the upper atmosphere, causing it to expand and increase resistance to objects that orbit close enough — such as starlink moons. In response to this accident, SpaceX originally responded by putting the satellites in "safe mode" and letting them fly sideways, thus minimizing drag. However, the combination of safety mode and increased drag prevented the satellites from raising their orbits, causing 40 of them to fall into flames.
Calculate costs
For SpaceX, the whole thing is likely to be a costly affair. Analysts estimate that each Starlink satellite costs between $250,000 and $500,000, while in 2020, SpaceX revealed that each launch of its Falcon 9 rocket costs the company $28 million, and preliminary estimates are that last week's geomagnetic storm cost nearly $50 million in a worst-case scenario. The launch cost of the Falcon 9 rocket is about $30 million.
While SpaceX may have lost these satellites recently, there are many more of them. Musk's aerospace company currently operates more than 2,000 satellites in its Starlink constellation and has approved thousands of them. SpaceX wants approval to build another 30,000 satellites, but NASA, which has supported Starlink in the past, now has concerns about its negative impact on astronomy and space exploration. The FCC hasn't made any decision yet, but that doesn't bode well for Musk and his company.
NASA is worried about the future of Starlink satellites
SpaceX is already the world's largest single satellite operator, thanks in large part to the Falcon 9 rocket. This vehicle has a reusable first stage that makes launch much cheaper than competing systems. This allows SpaceX to add up to 60 new nodes to Starlink with each launch.
According to NASA's letter to the FCC, the company currently tracks about 25,000 objects in Earth's orbit, while SpaceX hopes to install another 30,000 of its own satellites in orbit. That's in addition to the 12,000 that have already been approved. NASA is concerned that these large constellations could increase the likelihood of colliding with manned and non-manned assets in orbit. After all, SpaceX requires more than doubling the number of tracked objects in orbit.
Starlink satellites have nearly fallen several times, so industrial and space agencies have tried to design systems to prevent this from happening. However, adding thousands of satellites to the orbit could make this difficult. NASA has suggested that SpaceX and other companies looking to enter the giant constellation business develop autonomous maneuvering systems that can adjust course to avoid collisions. But NASA warns that if we have multiple large network nodes trying to avoid collisions with each other and NASA's hardware, it may not be enough.
Even ruling out any actual collisions, NASA is concerned that the Second Generation Star Chain could cause too many orbital blockages. The company plans to launch 20,000 satellites in a range of 328-360 kilometers, a key area for the spacecraft to travel to the International Space Station. This could lead to delays and even missed launch windows for missions such as the Europa Clipper. Interestingly, the Europa Clippers were launched by SpaceX rockets.
NASA also noted that even existing starlink satellites are already a headache for astronomers. These orbiting machines are too bright to appear in telescopes around the world, heavily influencing observations. And already 8 percent of Hubble's photos are taken by satellites, and adding thousands more satellites will only make it worse. NASA isn't strictly opposed to Starlink satellites, as many of ITS launch missions rely on SpaceX, but it does want more information before the FCC approves the license.