Solar Storm Destroys 40 New SpaceX Satellites in Orbit. As a consequence of a geomagnetic storm triggered by a recent outburst of the sun, up to 40 of 49 newly launched Starlink satellites have been knocked out of commission. They are in the process of re-entering Earth’s atmosphere, where they will be incinerated.

The geomagnetic incident resulted in the Starlink transmitters drifting back into Earth’s atmosphere, where they will burn up, potentially costing the company about $100 million.

A geomagnetic storm is a result of the sun releasing solar wind particles that are released throughout the solar system. The particles are known to affect the planet’s magnetic field and in the process, disrupt satellites by increasing drag and affecting their orbits.

When the storm hit Earth last week, it did the exact same thing -- intensify the drag on the satellites. SpaceX at the time put all of them in safe mode and flew them ‘edge on’ to reduce drag while also taking cover from the storm. However, based on preliminary analysis, the satellites never really turned on from the safe mode and are unable to raise their orbit.

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