BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — Up to 40 Starlink satellites will reenter or have already reentered the Earth’s atmosphere following a geomagnetic storm, according to SpaceX officials.
>>> STREAM CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS LIVE <<<
The satellites were among 49 launched on a Falcon 9 rocket to low-Earth orbit from Kennedy Space Center last week.
“SpaceX deploys its satellites into these lower obits so that in the very rare case any satellite does not pass initial system checkouts it will quickly be deorbited by atmospheric drag,” the company said. “While the low deployment altitude requires more capable satellites at a considerable cost to us, it’s the right thing to do to maintain a sustainable space environment.”
READ: Astra targeting Thursday afternoon for 3rd attempt at rocket launch from Space Coast
The satellites deployed on Thursday were significantly impacted by a geomagnetic storm on Friday, which caused the atmosphere to warm and atmospheric density at the low deployment altitude to increase, SpaceX said.
Preliminary analysis shows the increased drag of the low altitudes prevented the satellites from leaving safe mode to begin orbit-raising maneuvers, SpaceX said.
WATCH: SpaceX launches Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center
The deorbiting satellites pose zero collision risk with other satellites, according to SpaceX. No orbital debris will be created and no satellite parts will hit the ground.
“This unique situation demonstrates the great lengths the Starlink team has gone to ensure the system is on the leading edge of on-orbit debris mitigation,” SpaceX said.
WATCH: SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches from Space Coast following several delays
Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
©2022 Cox Media Group
