Elon Musk has to accept the harsh reality. A total of 40 Starlink internet satellites that just launched, ran aground in a geomagnetic storm.
On February 3, 49 Starlink satellites were launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, United States, with the help of a Falcon 9 rocket.
However, the company estimates that 40 of them experienced problems and did not reach the specified orbit.
SpaceX revealed, as reported by The Verge, Wednesday (9/2/2022), the emerging geomagnetic storm had provided a 50% higher pull during launch. This prevents Starlink from reaching Earth orbit and crashes.
"The Starlink team ordered the satellites into safe mode where they would fly with an edge (like a piece of paper) to minimize drag - to effectively 'shelter from the storm' -," SpaceX said.
At the same time, SpaceX continues to coordinate with the Space Force 18th Space Control Squadron and LeoLabs to provide updates to satellites based on ground radar.
Based on the initial analysis, it appears that the increased drag at low altitude prevents the satellite from leaving safe mode to initiate orbit enhancement maneuvers, up to 40 satellites will either reenter or have re-entered Earth's atmosphere.
"Deorbiting satellites pose no risk of collision with other satellites and are by design dead on re-entry into the atmosphere - meaning no orbital debris builds up and no part of the satellite hits the ground," he said.
SpaceX took this step to show how little impact its satellites have on the surrounding area.