Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Friday, Oct 03, 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

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×