

Elon Musk’s newest satellites drop out of orbit after solar storm

Marcia Dunn, Nick Perry and David Rising

SpaceX’s newest fleet of satellites is tumbling out of orbit after being struck by a solar storm.

Up to 40 of the 49 small satellites launched last week have either re-entered the atmosphere and burned up, or are on the verge of doing so, the company controlled by billionaire Elon Musk said in an online update on Tuesday night.


SpaceX said a geomagnetic storm last Friday made the atmosphere denser, which increased the drag on the Starlink satellites, effectively dooming them.

Ground controllers tried to save the compact, flat-panel satellites by putting them into a type of hibernation and flying them in a way to minimise drag. But the atmospheric pull was too great, and the satellites failed to awaken and climb to a higher, more stable orbit, according to the company.

SpaceX still has close to 2000 Starlink satellites orbiting Earth and providing internet service to remote corners of the world. They circle the globe more than 550 km above Earth.



The tsunami severed the sole fibre-optic cable that connects Tonga to the rest of the world and most people remain without reliable connections.

SpaceX helping Tonga

Three people were confirmed killed in the January 15 eruption of the massive undersea volcano and the resulting tsunami, and several small settlements in outlying islands were wiped out and a thick layer of volcanic ash that blanketed the main island tainted much of the drinking water.

A top official in neighbouring Fiji tweeted that a team from Musk’s SpaceX company was in Fiji establishing a station that would help reconnect Tonga through SpaceX satellites.

Fiji Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum tweeted about the SpaceX work, saying the volcano’s shockwave had “shattered Tonga’s internet connection, adding days of gut-wrenching uncertainty to disaster assessments.”


The satellites hit by the solar storm were in a temporary position. SpaceX deliberately launches them into this unusually low orbit so that any duds can quickly re-enter the atmosphere and pose no threat to other spacecraft.

There is no danger from the satellites that have recently fallen to the ground, either in orbit or on the ground, according to the company.

Each satellite weighs less than 260 kg.

SpaceX described the lost satellites as a “unique situation.” Such geomagnetic storms are caused by intense solar activity like flares, which can send streams of plasma from the sun’s corona hurtling out into space and toward Earth.

Since launching the first Starlink satellites in 2019, Elon Musk envisions a constellation of thousands more satellites to increase internet service.

London-based OneWeb has its own internet satellites up there. And Amazon plans to start launching its satellites later this year.

Astronomers are distressed that these mega-constellations will ruin nighttime observations from Earth. The International Astronomical Union is forming a new centre for the protection of dark skies.


Introducing your Newsfeed

Follow the topics, people and companies that matter to you.

Find out more

Read More

Latest In Telecommunications

Fetching latest articles

Most Viewed In Companies