Did Space Weather Prevent SpaceX From Saving Some Starlink Satellites After the Falcon 9 Malfunction?
Space weather is having a larger impact on the smallsat industry than expected. Last week, 20 of SpaceX’s Starlink satellites met their fiery demise after a Falcon 9’s second stage engine failed. The satellites were placed in a lower orbit than planned and space weather ultimately doomed the company’s efforts to raise the satellites into a higher altitude that could salvage at least some of the Starlinks.