Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Oct 06, 2025

SpaceX: Space storm destroys 40 of Elon Musk's Starlink satellites

SpaceX: Space storm destroys 40 of Elon Musk's Starlink satellites

The vast majority of satellites launched last week will fall back to Earth and burn up rather than go into orbit, SpaceX says - "at a considerable cost to us".

SpaceX has confirmed that a geomagnetic storm destroyed most of the Starlink satellites it launched last Friday.

Elon Musk's company said that 40 of its 49 satellites were going to fall back to Earth - though they are designed to burn up on re-entry - after a space storm "significantly impacted" them.

They were part of a planned satellite constellation that is intended to eventually provide constant internet coverage for most of the world.

Starlink's satellites have been accused of 'ruining the night sky' for astronomers


What is Starlink?


The Starlink project is intended to provide broadband-speed internet access across the planet and generate cash for Musk's other space ambitions.

Musk said: "We think this is a key stepping stone on the way towards establishing a self-sustaining city on Mars and a base on the moon."

The company has already launched 2,000 satellites and has permission from the US authorities to send up 12,000 in total.

But critics fear that the fleet of satellites will ruin the night sky for astronomers attempting to observe distant parts of the universe.

SpaceX says it is darkening its satellites with a software upgrade so they will fly with their "knife edge" to the sun to minimise reflections.

Elon Musk plans to use the money from Starlink to fund missions to Mars


What happened?


The storm, which was caused by solar activity, made the Earth's atmosphere warm and expand.

This is not in itself unusual, and the impact of a geomagnetic storm on de-orbiting spacecraft has also been cited as a concern by NASA in its plan to crash the International Space Station into a "spacecraft cemetery" when it is finally retired.

The denser atmosphere at the initial orbital altitude for the satellites caused atmospheric drag to increase up to 50% higher than SpaceX had seen in previous launches, the company said.

Ultimately this means that "up to 40 of the satellites will re-enter or already have re-entered the Earth's atmosphere", it said.

The satellites posed no risk to Earth, the company added.

"The de-orbiting satellites pose zero collision risk with other satellites and by design demise upon atmospheric re-entry - meaning no orbital debris is created and no satellite parts hit the ground."

The company said that it deployed its satellites into lower orbits "so that in the very rare case any satellite does not pass initial system checkouts it will quickly be de-orbited 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," it added.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
×