@interstellarspac: The Sun is shortening the lives of Starlink satellites. ☀️🛰️ The Sun isn't just lighting up our sky. It's also wearing down the satellites above it. A NASA-led study found that solar storms are making Starlink satellites fall out of orbit sooner than expected. 🛰️ Starlink satellites fly low, in the upper layer of Earth's atmosphere. During a solar storm, that layer heats up and swells outward. The thicker air creates extra drag, slowing the satellites down and pulling them lower until they burn up. 📊 The research team, led by Denny Oliveira at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, looked at 523 Starlink satellites that fell back to Earth between 2020 and 2024. They found a clear link to solar activity. At solar maximum, a satellite's lifetime can be cut by up to 10 days. The number of Starlink satellites reentering also rose sharply, from 78 in 2021 to 316 in 2024. 🌪️ It has happened before. In February 2022, a geomagnetic storm knocked out 40 of the 49 Starlink satellites SpaceX had just launched. The storm didn't destroy them directly. It increased drag so much that they couldn't climb to their working orbit. 🔭 Why now? The Sun is going through the peak of its 11-year activity cycle, and there are more satellites in orbit than ever. The effect isn't new, but with thousands of satellites flying, it's easier to measure. ⚠️ The researchers say this is worth watching, since storms make it harder to predict when and where satellites will fall. Still, it's not a sign that Starlink is failing. Satellites at that height are designed to come down within a few years, and more drag simply speeds that up. The Sun is not attacking satellites. It's changing the sky they fly in. 🌌

Kyle

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Friday 09 October 2026 14:55:34 GMT