According to the U.S. Space Exploration Technology Corporation, as many as 40 of the 49 satellites launched by the company earlier this month were destroyed the next day and fell into the atmosphere from satellite orbit. The person in charge said that the falling satellite will not collide with other satellites, the debris will burn up after entering the atmosphere, and there will be no debris or debris falling to the ground.
Regarding the reason for the crash of 40 satellites in the same day, the US Space Exploration Technology Company said that it encountered a strong solar flare activity, and the ejected material and energy arrived on the earth and caused a geomagnetic storm, resulting in geomagnetic disturbances, atmospheric warming and increased density, which eventually led to the satellite being subjected to greater upward resistance and the launch failure, crashing before entering orbit.
The geomagnetic storm incident is a big blow to the US Space Exploration Technology Company, the cost of a single satellite alone is close to $1 million, and the one-time loss of 40 Starlink satellites also makes Musk quite painful. According to the plan, StarLink will launch 12,000 satellites, of which 1,798 satellites are already in orbit, and another 272 satellites are ready to launch or wait to enter orbit.
It is understood that the U.S. Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a geomagnetic storm reminder on the day of the incident that a solar storm may occur, but the Space Exploration Technology Company did not pay attention to this news, and the "Falcon 9" still lifted off on time, sending the satellites to a 210-kilometer orbit. After the solar wind arrived on Earth, the fierce geomagnetic storm caused the atmosphere to expand by heat, and the density of the local area increased, and although Space Exploration Technology Company took emergency measures to reduce atmospheric resistance and avoid the impact of geomagnetic storms, 40 satellites failed to enter orbit.
As for why Space Exploration Technology did not cancel the launch, we do not know, but space launch activities are highly susceptible to space radiation, and launch failures are normal. The accident of the Starlink satellite reminds us to maintain enough reverence in the face of nature and not to try to challenge the laws of nature with science and technology.
In fact, after the successive successes of the Starlink satellites, the Space Exploration Technology Company has been somewhat floating, immersed in the ambitious space deployment plan, and has twice manipulated the Starlink satellites to approach the continental space station, forcing the continental space station to take emergency avoidance actions, almost endangering the lives and safety of our stationed personnel. As for the violation of the Starlink satellite, we appealed this time to the Secretary-General of the United Nations in accordance with the regulations, accusing the United States of violating the Outer Space Treaty, but the United States pushed it on the grounds of accident.