SpaceX says all satellites remains healthy amid geomagnetic storm

SpaceX today announced that all of its Starlink communication satellites in Earth’s orbit weathered the geomagnetic storm and remain healthy.

Geomagnetic storms originate from the Sun. This event occurs due to Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) or massive plasma bursts and magnetic fields ejected from the Sun’s surface. The earth’s magnetic field and atmosphere reduce the effects of solar flares. The most impactful emissions from flares are energetically charged particles and electromagnetic radiation.

The collision of Earth’s magnetic field and solar flare causes heat in Earth’s outer atmosphere causing it to expand. This increases the drag on Earth-orbiting satellites and degrades satellite communications.

The drag continues to expand with atmospheric density, especially for those low-Earth orbiting satellites. In worst-case scenarios, this event could cause malfunctions, glitches, or permanent damage to critical components.

SpaceX accounts for more than half of the satellites orbiting Earth, nearly 6000. It’s impressive, how the company survived this storm without losing a satellite.

Soon after the storm, Elon Musk, Founder and CEO of SpaceX posted an update on Starlink satellites on social media site X. Musk mentioned that the major storm was the biggest in a long time and Starlink satellites are under a lot of pressure “but holding up so far”.

Soon after Starlink user reported a “Degraded service” notification on their Starlink dish connection with the following message.

“Your area is currently experiencing degraded service. Some websites and applications may temporarily not work or report you are at a different location.” says the message.

I’m impressed by Starlink right now! It says “degraded service,” but I’ve had no trouble so far. pic.twitter.com/lywMPxsO7y

— 🌻 Jessica Kirsh (@jessica_kirsh) May 11, 2024

Meanwhile, Michale Nicolls, VP of Starlink Engineering said newly launched satellites also whethered through this storm. He said conditions were intense over 2 to 3 times density increase at around 300km.