Space exploration technology company lost 40 satellite chains. What is the culprit?

Due to geomagnetic storm, as many as 40 satellite chains launched by Space Exploration Technology Company have returned or will soon enter the Earth's atmosphere.

Before the accident, Space Exploration Technology Company compensated the satellite fleet in the satellite chain for many times to reduce the flight resistance as much as possible, but it still failed to keep a number of brand-new satellite chains, as many as 40 brand-new satellite chains, which were bound to go to the road of destruction.

The reason why the satellite chain fell into the atmosphere again was mainly because the satellite was affected by the magnetic storm. On June 30th, 65438, a solar storm broke out in the sun. Just one day after the satellite chain was launched, a magnetic storm appeared on the earth. Magnetic storms have increased the resistance of satellites by 50%, causing a large number of satellites to be fatally affected.

As many as 40 satellite chains are about to crash due to magnetic storms: these satellite chains were successfully launched by Falcon 9 carrier rocket on February 4, and a magnetic storm appeared over the earth one day later.

Geomagnetic storms temporarily increased the density of the earth's atmosphere, and the satellite resistance also increased. Space exploration technology company said in the mission log that the satellite's flight encountered a 50% increase in resistance. In order to maintain the altitude, the team immediately let the satellites leave the safe mode and tried to improve the orbit, but there are still 40 satellites that have entered or are about to enter the Earth's atmosphere.

The space exploration technology company has considered the possible impact of geomagnetic storms before launching these satellite chains.

When launching 49 satellite chains, Space Exploration Technology Company designed the satellites to be released in low orbit to increase the operation time of ground workers. But it turns out that this decision not only can't make the satellite chain respond quickly, but also makes the satellite chain more vulnerable to geomagnetic storms.

After the satellite chain was released, it was found that the resistance caused by magnetic storm increased. Space exploration technology company began to adjust its position to minimize frontal resistance and continue tracking with ground radar. But for the satellite chain, the increased resistance is too great, and most satellites in the satellite chain will be out of orbit and fall to the earth.

Will the collapse of the satellite chain have a chain reaction? With the increase of the number of earth satellites, there is more and more space junk in the earth orbit, and 40 crashed satellite chains have a great impact on the space environment.

Space exploration technology company clarified the collapse of the satellite chain. According to space exploration technology company, the falling orbit of 40 satellite chains will not collide with other satellites. Although a small amount of space debris will be produced, most of it will eventually fall into the earth's atmosphere and burn.

The design of the satellite chain also takes into account the atmospheric crash, so the satellite will not fall to the ground.

Since 20 19, space exploration technology company has been launching satellite chains. The launch of the satellite chain doubled the number of satellites in Earth orbit.

The 40 satellite chains lost this time are not the first satellites with problems. Among the many satellites launched before, there are also satellites that have lost contact or crashed.

Satellite-ground linkage satellite is not only the threat of space junk, but also the core to improve the risk of space orbit. According to scientists' calculations, with the launch of satellite-ground linkage satellites, more than 80% of high-risk early warning satellites in Earth orbit are involved.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of satellite network? The goal of satellite networking is to provide comprehensive Internet services for the earth, especially in remote areas. However, in the first test of satellite link, it is generally believed that the internet access cost of satellite link is too high, far higher than that of ordinary network, and special equipment needs to be purchased. However, remote areas around the world are often poor areas.

The project has also been unanimously criticized by astronomers. With the launch of the satellite chain, all the astronomical observation equipment on the earth basically left long stripes because of the "passing" of the satellite chain. Although the space exploration technology company reduced the visibility of the star chain, the improvement of astronomical observation on the ground was not obvious.

Is the space exploration technology company's satellite program beneficial to mankind or does more harm than good? what do you think?