This is how SpaceX wants to protect its satellites from solar storms
So that the satellites are no longer destroyed by solar storms, SpaceX has now thought of something.
SpaceX lost dozens of Starlink satellites due to a solar storm in early February. The atmosphere thickened due to the solar storm and slowed down the satellites. So they could not reach their orbit and burned up on re-entry to Earth.
So that this doesn’t happen again so quickly, SpaceX is now changing its strategy for distributing new satellites in space.
In the current Starlink satellite delivery, 46 satellites were launched at an altitude of over 330 kilometers. That is around 130 kilometers higher than previous deliveries, which were made with Falcon 9 rockets. So far they have been deployed at an altitude of 200 kilometers, as reported by SpaceNews.
What a difference that makes
However, they do not remain at this level. They carry out their work at an altitude of more than 500 kilometers and then have to reach it independently. The previous reason SpaceX deployed them at an altitude of 200 kilometers was to carry more satellites. So far, 49 Starlink satellites have been on board the rocket. Now that this one has to fly higher, it’s only 46.
At an altitude of 330 kilometers, the satellites are much better protected from the effects of solar storms. They should also be able to reach their 500-kilometer orbit from the 330-kilometer orbit during a solar storm.
The danger of space debris increases
There are also disadvantages: if the satellites malfunction right at launch, it will take longer for them to crash and burn up. Because the satellites only move to their intended height of 500 kilometers when they turn out to be fully functional.
The new strategy, therefore, protects the satellites from solar storms but increases the risk of space debris if satellites are not working.
SpaceX is currently offering the Starlink Internet, which has been under construction since 2019, for 99 euros per month — also in Austria. There are currently more than 1,500 active satellites in space, and by the end of the expansion stage, SpaceX wants to have put around 30,000 satellites into space.
