SpaceX is reporting that 40 Starlink satellites are destined to re-enter (re-enter). The re-entry of the moons, more like points of light, travels in the same direction than natural meteors, leaving horizontal lines behind them. Through these horizontal lines, the reader may be able to see a fleeting point of light, as if the remnants of a man-made building are disappearing. The image above shows an artificial satellite in re-entry, which was video-recorded by the European Space Agency's (ESA) "Jules Vernaya United Television Re-entry Observation Campaign" in 2008. Image credit: ESA/Aerospace .com.
40 Starlink satellites were scrapped
Last night (February 8, 2022) SpaceX reported that 49 Starlink satellites launched from their intended positions and entered low Earth orbit on February 3, affected by a geomagnetic storm, 40 of which have now been scrapped. Such storms that can interfere with the Earth's magnetic field are caused by the activity of the Sun. SpaceX plans to launch thousands of Starlink satellites to achieve ambitious goals like global connectivity.
SpaceX says: ... The satellites deployed on Thursday were significantly affected by the geomagnetic storm on Friday. Preliminary analysis suggests that the lower the altitude, the greater the air resistance, which will allow the satellites to no longer be in safe mode and begin to perform highly maneuverable detours, with 40 satellites re-entering the Earth's atmosphere or having re-entered the Earth's atmosphere.
It is the eruptive movement of the sun that triggers the geomagnetic storm, scientifically known as the solar flare. One of the effects of these activities, which would cause the Sun's charged particles to travel across space to Earth, would be a geomagnetic storm accompanied by beautiful auroras or Northern lights, but these activities would also warm and "swell" the Earth's atmosphere. During geomagnetic storms, low-orbiting satellites feel increased atmospheric drag in the expanding atmosphere.
SpaceX notes that in fact, onboard GPS shows that increased speed, or severe storms, increase atmospheric resistance by more than 50 percent compared to previous launches.
The Starlink team directed the satellites into safe mode, and they flew sideways (like a thin piece of paper) to reduce drag, thus effectively dodging the storm...
But it doesn't make sense.
Re-entry satellites
In recent days, one or more satellites may re-enter the atmosphere over the Caribbean Sea.
Cameras from the Caribbean Astronomical Society (Sociedad de Astronomia del Caribe), which monitored the Puerto Rican sky, recorded a video showing an interesting event that seemed to be related to it: First, an object could be seen disintegrating with visible debris, characteristic of space junk.
Just a minute later, impressive visuals appeared, and a larger object was undergoing an even more spectacular disintegration. Satellite tracking experts agree that the incident could be related to the Launch satellite Starlink launched on February 3, 2022.
Watch the video:
Each Starlink satellite measures 10.5 feet (3.2 meters) x 5.25 feet (1.6 meters) and weighs 573 pounds (260 kilograms).
Some doomed satellites will re-enter the atmosphere in the coming days, although the exact location and time are still uncertain, just in case, keep an eye out!
More magnetic storms are expected
SpaceX continues to track deorbited satellites: there is no risk of collisions with other satellites, which burn up during re-entry into the atmosphere. This means that no orbital debris is generated and no satellites are mutilated to hit the ground.
By the way, the Sun is currently in the explosion phase of the sunspot 11-year cycle. In other words, solar activity is active and is expected to be more active in the coming years. In fact, the next time the Sun releases the CME on February 6 and reaches Earth on February 10.
In January 2022, SpaceX launched more than 2,000 satellites, becoming a milestone in the Starlink mission, but launching thousands of low-Earth orbit Starlink satellites has caused controversy in the Astronomical Society.
On Thursday, February 3, 2022, SpaceX's Falcon-9 launched 49 Starlink satellites at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, affected by a geomagnetic storm, at least 40 of which will re-enter or have re-entered the Earth's atmosphere.
Related knowledge
Starlink is a satellite Internet constellation operated by Space Exploration Technologies Corporation[1] that provides satellite Internet access covering most of Earth. By 2021, the constellation has grown to more than 1,700 satellites and will eventually consist of thousands of mass-produced small satellites in low-Earth orbit that communicate with designated ground transceivers. While the technical possibilities of satellite internet service cover a large portion of the world's population, the actual service can only be provided within the jurisdiction of any particular country that SpaceX has authorized. As of January 2022, beta internet services are available in 25 countries.
SpaceX satellite development facility in Redmond, starchain research, development, manufacturing and orbit control teams in Washington, D.C., Space Exploration Technologies estimated in May 2018 that the design, construction and deployment of the decade-long constellation project cost at least $10 billion [4]. According to Documents in February 2017, SpaceX expects revenue from its satellite constellation to exceed $30 billion by 2025, while revenue from its launch business is expected to reach $5 billion that same year.
On October 15, 2019, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) filed an application with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) on behalf of SpaceX to arrange spectrum for an additional 30,000 Starlink satellites to complement the 12,000 Starlink satellites already approved by the FCC. [7]
Astronomers have raised concerns about the impact of satellite constellations on terrestrial astronomy and how satellites will increase an already congested orbital environment. [8] [9] To alleviate astronomical concerns, SpaceX has made several upgrades to the Starlink satellites with the aim of reducing their brightness during operation. [10] The satellites were equipped with Krypton-fueled Hall thrusters, which allowed them to de-orbit at the end of their lives. In addition, the satellite design automatically avoids collisions based on upstream tracking data. [11]
BY：Deborah Byrd and Eddie Irizarry
FY：Astronomical volunteer team
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