ELON MUSK'S STARLINK SATELLITE NETWORK HAS BEEN HIT BY A GEOMAGNETIC STORM, WITH AN ESTIMATED LOSS OF 40 SATELLITES

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Elon Musk's ambitious plan to bring low-latency broadband Internet connectivity to rural locations around the world via a constellation of small satellites in low-Earth orbit was recently dealt a costly setback, but there was little Musk or SpaceX could do about it. On February 3, SpaceX sent 49 satellites into orbit, but roughly 40 of them were damaged by a geomagnetic storm. The storm generated "up to 50% more drag than previous launches," preventing the deployed satellites from reaching their normal orbit above the Earth, according to SpaceX.

Starlink tried to fly the satellites "edge-on (like a sheet of paper)" to save drag, but it's now looking like "up to 40 of the satellites will reenter or have already reentered the Earth's atmosphere" instead of reaching their destinations, according to SpaceX.

However, the Musk-owned aerospace firm declared that there appeared to be "zero risk" of these satellites colliding with others. It further stated that their satellites would "death upon atmospheric reentry," implying that no trash would be formed and no satellite parts would collide with the Earth.

SpaceX intends to launch up to 12,000 satellites into low-Earth orbit to complete the Starlink constellation. It recently surpassed the 2,000-satellite goal. As a result, losing 40 satellites may not have a significant impact on its goals. Even so, this is the equivalent of losing a whole launch capacity.

Geomagnetic storms warm the atmosphere, increasing atmospheric density around low deployment altitudes, according to SpaceX. According to SpaceX, a geomagnetic storm on Friday, February 4, had a significant impact on the satellites that were launched on Thursday. Starlink, undeterred by the loss of satellites, is expected to launch more in the next weeks and months in order to meet the 12,000 mini-satellite target as soon as possible.

In the regions where it operates, Starlink recently launched a "premium" service for its consumers. The service will have "more than double the antenna capability" of the business's standard service, according to the company.

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