523 crashes: Musk's Starlink satellites are falling from space due to Sun's fury
Elon Musk's SpaceX has been responsible for deploying one of the biggest satellite networks in the Low Earth Orbit as it ramps up the launch of new Starlinks every week in a bid to provide global broadband coverage.However, they have come at a big consequence. The company has lost over 500 satellites in five year, a new analysis revealed.The satellites have faced the brunt of the Sun's fury during Solar Cycle 25 which has seen intense activity from the star in our Solar System with several big coronal mass ejections that have triggered geomagnetic storms on Earth and chaos for satellites in orbit.advertisement
Elon Musk's Starlink has lost 523 satellites from 2020 to 2024, the years associated with the peak of the Solar Cycle.The solar cycle is an approximately 11-year cycle that tracks the rise and fall of activity on the Sun's surface, particularly the number of sunspots — dark, cooler areas caused by magnetic activity. This cycle affects the Sun's magnetic field, solar flares, coronal mass ejections (CMEs), and the overall "space weather" that impacts Earth — including disruptions to satellites, GPS, and power grids.Currently, the Sun is in maxima, a period during which the Sun is most active, sunspot counts are highest, and powerful solar flares and CMEs are more frequent.A team of scientists, led by space physicist Denny Oliveira of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center analysed the developments and wrote in a paper, "We clearly show that the intense solar activity of the current solar cycle has already had significant impacts on Starlink reentries."advertisementThe reason is the orbital decay rates (in km/day) of the satellites caused by increased drag forces from the solar radiation. It is worth mentioning that the biggest solar storm of the current cycle that hit Earth in 2024 led to instant crashing of 42 Starlink satellites that had been launched just days before into orbit.Astronomers, tracking the objects in the sky noted that in January 2025 alone, over 120 Starlink satellites re-entered Earth's atmosphere, and burned up creating spectacular fireballs.While the re-entries produce visually stunning fireballs, they also raise concerns about atmospheric pollution. The disintegration of satellites adds metallic vapours to the atmosphere.
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