Solar Storms Are Pushing Elon Musk’s Satellites Back to Earth

New research shows that Oily solar activity shortens the life of SPACEK’s Starlink satellitesand can be reserved in the ground at larger speeds. Perhaps foolishly, it can increase the risk of satellite.

This is still a review of this preprint review, adds to a proof that shows that Solar storms were angry with Elon Musk’s Starlinks. Over the past few years, the frequency and intensity of these storms, the maximum of the sun approached the highest peak in the 11-year period, the frequency and intensity of these storms increased. At the same time, the number of satellites broke the number of earth, Based on special Megaconstelly rose mainly like Starklink.

Denny Oliveira’s research team from the Goddard Space Flight Center of NASA watched the regentreles of Starlink satellites between 2020 and 2024. This period, when the solar activity occurred in October 2024, the sun’s maximum coincided with the rising stage of the current solar period.

During these five years, the Earth atmosphere of the 523 Stallin satellite was re-sent. Oliveira and colleagues analyzed the orbits of these satellites using a statistical technique that determines the change in orbital decay and changing change in the high solar activity periods.

Researchers have found that the expected place of geoMagnetic activities in the upper atmosphere triggered by sun spraying has led to restarting the expected place sooner than expected. These are satellites drawn to stay in orbit for about five years. However, during the ruins of severe geomagnetic storms, their lives can be reduced in 10 to 12 days, Oliveira Gizmodo said.

Colleagues and colleagues believe that this happened, because geomagnetic actions heated an atmosphere and cause it to expand it. This is dragging in satellites and shortens their life and cause it to lose its height faster because they interact with the upper atmosphere. In addition, the atmosphere can increase the chances of satellite satellite clashes, because the orbital models that direct the precautions preventing measures preventing the collisions do not fully consider the impact of geomagnetic activity. The team’s findings are currently available on the PrePrint server archive.

A 10-12-day difference cannot sound like a big thing, but it may be impossible for Spacex to ensure the return of Starlink satellites through the managed reentry. In addition, its analysis shows that the growing gliding satellites are re-entering higher speeds, which can increase the chances of rubbish.

This can be counter-affected, because the increase in the speed of an object usually increases the likelihood of total disintegration. However, Oliveira can be a better chance to re-live due to the reduced atmosphere of starlinks that fall in speed. Additional investigation will have to confirm this hypothesis because the research has not directly assessed the risks of garbage.

Starlinks are designed to fully burn during re-reoremination, but this is not always. 5.5 pounds (2.5 kg) of Starlink debris in 2024, the new scientist landed on the farm in Saskatchewan declare. Spacex in February this year gossip It is possible to return to the ground in Starlink garbage, but it claimed that this “in place, sea or in the air.”

According to the Harvard University Astronomer Jonathan McDowell, there are more than 7,500 starlinks in the orbit. surplus the zodiac. Finally, SpaceX is the size of this fleet, for a total of 42,000 starlink to start Space. It is currently in addition to thousands of thousands of local orbiting.

“[This is] For the first time in history, there are so many satellites in the orbit, “he said. Said. And perhaps in the coming months or years, every day. “To understand how changes in solar activity, their life and their reentries are becoming increasingly crowded, because the orbit of the earth is increasingly crowded.