kevinizooropa
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Most of the recent batch of Starlink satellites launched on February 3, 2022, may have reentered the Earth's atmosphere, or will do it soon, as a recent geomagnetic storm prevented the satellites from reaching their intented orbit, SpaceX said. As of February, over 2,000 Starlink satellites have been launched, as part of a constellation that provides satellite internet access to remote areas, and most of Earth. On February 3, 2022, a Falcon 9 rocket was launched from Cape Canaveral with 49 new Starlink satellites, designated as group G4-7. Soon after the launch, satellite tracking experts suspected something went wrong, as the details of the orbit of these new satellites were not still published.
In fact, it's possible that one or more of the satellites reentered the atmosphere over the Caribbean recently. This video from cameras that monitor the skies of Puerto Rico, from Sociedad de Astronomia del Caribe, shows an interesting event that appears to be related: first, an object is seen disintegrating, with noticeable fragmentation, which is characteristic of space debris.
Impressive visuals are seen moments later, as just one minute later, a bigger object is seen in a spectacular disintegration event, and satellite tracking experts agree the event is probably related to the Starlink satellites launched on February 3, 2022.It turns out that a recent solar storm may be responsible.
It is possible the bigger object seen in the second segment of this video, might be 2, 3 or more satellites disintegrating at the same time.
"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.", SpaceX said in a recent update.
I was surprised that solar storms could cause satellites to fall out of obtaining orbit !
Re: APOD: Eiffel Tower Prominence on the Sun (2022 Feb 16)
Posted: Wed Feb 16, 2022 4:00 pm
by bystander
orin stepanek wrote: ↑Wed Feb 16, 2022 1:36 pm
...
I was surprised that solar storms could cause satellites to fall out of obtaining orbit !
Re: APOD: Eiffel Tower Prominence on the Sun (2022 Feb 16)
Posted: Wed Feb 16, 2022 4:53 pm
by Chris Peterson
orin stepanek wrote: ↑Wed Feb 16, 2022 1:36 pm
I was surprised that solar storms could cause satellites to fall out of obtaining orbit !
It was a consequence of the method they use, which is to release the constellation into a very low orbit (which would be short-lived even without an increase in solar activity) and then boost them up, individually, to their final, higher orbit afterwards. Just really bad luck that the storm hit during the brief window after launch and before raising the orbits.
Re: APOD: Eiffel Tower Prominence on the Sun (2022 Feb 16)
orin stepanek wrote: ↑Wed Feb 16, 2022 1:36 pm
I was surprised that solar storms could cause satellites to fall out of obtaining orbit !
It was a consequence of the method they use, which is to release the constellation into a very low orbit (which would be short-lived even without an increase in solar activity) and then boost them up, individually, to their final, higher orbit afterwards. Just really bad luck that the storm hit during the brief window after launch and before raising the orbits.
<<Most of the films released by RKO Pictures between 1929 and 1957 have an opening ident displaying the studio's famous trademark, the spinning globe and radio tower, nicknamed the "Transmitter." It was inspired by a two-hundred-foot tower built in Colorado for a giant electrical amplifier, or Tesla coil, created by inventor Nikola Tesla. Orson Welles referred to the design as his "favorite among the old idents, not just because it was so often a reliable portent. ... It reminds us to listen." The studio's closing ident, a triangle enclosing a thunderbolt, was also a well-known trademark. Instead of the Transmitter, many Disney and Goldwyn films released by the studio originally appeared with colorful versions of the RKO closing ident as part of the main title sequence. For decades, re-releases of these films had Disney/Buena Vista and MGM/Goldwyn ident replacing the RKO insignia, but the originals have been made available in some of the Blu-ray and DVD editions. With the creation of Disney's streaming service Disney+, all films available on the site that were originally released with the RKO thunderbolt ident have had the logo restored. The Hartley–Merrill RKO Pictures has created new versions of the Transmitter and the closing thunderbolt ident.>>
Re: APOD: Eiffel Tower Prominence on the Sun (2022 Feb 16)
Posted: Wed Feb 16, 2022 9:50 pm
by johnnydeep
Nice! It looks an awful lot like a much larger, much longer-lived and inverted version (in this orientation at least) of one of those sprite lightning trees that have also appeared in numerous APODs from days past. In fact, a video of one such was even offered up as the "next" video to watch!
EDIT - it disappeared on a replay before I could grab it, but I got it back a little later. Here it is:
Click to play embedded YouTube video.
Re: APOD: Eiffel Tower Prominence on the Sun (2022 Feb 16)
orin stepanek wrote: ↑Wed Feb 16, 2022 1:36 pm
I was surprised that solar storms could cause satellites to fall out of obtaining orbit !
It was a consequence of the method they use, which is to release the constellation into a very low orbit (which would be short-lived even without an increase in solar activity) and then boost them up, individually, to their final, higher orbit afterwards. Just really bad luck that the storm hit during the brief window after launch and before raising the orbits.
Bad luck indeed; I hope they can be replaced without consequence!
Re: APOD: Eiffel Tower Prominence on the Sun (2022 Feb 16)
orin stepanek wrote: ↑Wed Feb 16, 2022 1:36 pm
I was surprised that solar storms could cause satellites to fall out of obtaining orbit !
It was a consequence of the method they use, which is to release the constellation into a very low orbit (which would be short-lived even without an increase in solar activity) and then boost them up, individually, to their final, higher orbit afterwards. Just really bad luck that the storm hit during the brief window after launch and before raising the orbits.
Bad luck indeed; I hope they can be replaced without consequence!
Eiffel Tower Prominence on the Sun
