 SpaceX loses 40 Starlink satellites to geomagnetic storm from Sun

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By H.JanGra Feb 10, 2022

Days after it launched a new batch of 49 Starlink satellites to Low Earth Orbit (LEO), SpaceX said that it lost 40 of them to a geomagnetic storm that hit Earth last week.

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The satellites were launched on a Falcon-9 rocket on February 3 and the geomagnetic storm hit Earth the next day.

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The geomagnetic storm was the result of a coronal mass ejection from the Sun by an M1-class solar flare that lasted for about four hours

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Pushing materials into the vacuum of space and towards inner planets including Earth.

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Experts had warned of a moderately-strong G2-class geomagnetic storm as the flares hit Earth's magnetic field.

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The satellites were deployed in an orbit around 210 kilometers above Earth

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Each satellite had achieved controlled flight after successful deployment from the Falcon-9 upper stage.

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