By Justinas Vainilavičius,
Published bycybernews, 19 September 2023

There’s been an uptick in burned Starlink satellites over the summer, according to satellite tracking data.

Starlink, a satellite constellation operated by aerospace company SpaceX, lost 212 satellites in the period spanning July 18th and September 18th, data compiled by satellitemap.space shows.

Data shows the number of burned-up satellites steadily increasing over the past three years, but a significant spike can be observed starting the month of July.

It’s unclear whether these satellites were scheduled to de-orbit or whether the burn-ups were a result of a failure. Cybernews has reached out to SpaceX for comment but has not received a response.

Starlink satellites are designed to burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere at the end of their life cycle, which is approximately five years.

SpaceX started launching Starlink satellites in 2019. Over 5,000 have been sent into Earth’s lower orbit since then. Of those, about 4,500 are thought to be active.

Satellites can also be vulnerable to electromagnetic storms, with strong solar flares recorded this summer as the sun enters a period of heightened activity.

Destructive solar events have affected Starlink before. In February last year, SpaceX said it lost 40 new satellites shortly after launch because of an electromagnetic storm.

When accounting for the rocket launch, it potentially cost the company about $100 million in damages.

See: Original Article

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