Hi According to the operators , they reckon they are programmed to burn up before "re-entering". Not sure how that works unless they have some sort of pirotechnic device. "The deorbiting satellites pose zero collision risk with other satellites and by design demise upon atmospheric reentry — meaning no orbital debris is created and no satellite parts hit the ground," SpaceX wrote of the satellites' reentry. https://www.space.com/spacex-starlink-satellites-lost-geomagnetic-storm Regards John On 09/02/2022 12:35, Marco Langbroek via Seesat-l wrote: > > Helmets on everybody.... ;-) > > There is an increased chance of seeing a reentry the coming days. Some > 40 Starlink satellites from the very recent Feb 3 launch are coming down. > > The reason is a solar storm a day after the launch. This prevented the > satellites, initially deployed in a very low orbit, to raise their > orbits in time. > > So now almost all of them will reenter. It are uncontrolled reentries. > > Some have already reentered (e.g. the Puerto Rico event of Feb 7, > http://www.satobs.org/seesat/Feb-2022/0034.html): many more will over > the coming days. > > This is an update from SpaceX itself on it: > > -------------------------------------------------------------- > https://www.spacex.com/updates/ > > February 8, 2022 > GEOMAGNETIC STORM AND RECENTLY DEPLOYED STARLINK SATELLITES > > On Thursday, February 3 at 1:13 p.m. EST, Falcon 9 launched 49 Starlink > satellites to low Earth orbit from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at > Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Falcon 9’s second stage deployed the > satellites into their intended orbit, with a perigee of approximately > 210 kilometers above Earth, and each satellite achieved controlled flight. > > SpaceX deploys its satellites into these lower orbits so that in the > very rare case any satellite does not pass initial system checkouts it > will quickly be deorbited by atmospheric drag. 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. > > Unfortunately, the satellites deployed on Thursday were significantly > impacted by a geomagnetic storm on Friday. These storms cause the > atmosphere to warm and atmospheric density at our low deployment > altitudes to increase. In fact, onboard GPS suggests the escalation > speed and severity of the storm caused atmospheric drag to increase up > to 50 percent higher than during previous launches. The Starlink team > commanded the satellites into a safe-mode where they would fly edge-on > (like a sheet of paper) to minimize drag—to effectively “take cover > from the storm”—and continued to work closely with the Space Force’s > 18th Space Control Squadron and LeoLabs to provide updates on the > satellites based on ground radars. > > Preliminary analysis show the increased drag at the low altitudes > prevented the satellites from leaving safe-mode to begin orbit raising > maneuvers, and up to 40 of the satellites will reenter or already have > reentered the Earth’s atmosphere. The deorbiting satellites pose zero > collision risk with other satellites and by design demise upon > atmospheric reentry—meaning no orbital debris is created and no > satellite parts 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. > -------------------------------------------------------------- > > - Marco > > > > ----- > Dr Marco Langbroek - SatTrackCam Leiden, the Netherlands. > e-mail: sattrackcam_at_langbroek.org > > launchtower: http://launchtower.langbroek.org > Station (b)log: http://sattrackcam.blogspot.com > Twitter: _at_Marco_Langbroek > ----- > _______________________________________________ > Seesat-l mailing list > http://mailman.satobs.org/mailman/listinfo/seesat-l _______________________________________________ Seesat-l mailing list http://mailman.satobs.org/mailman/listinfo/seesat-lReceived on Wed Feb 09 2022 - 07:25:56 UTC
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