Unveiling the Space Weather During the Starlink Satellites Destruction Event on 4 February 2022
Abstract On 4 February 2022, 38 Starlink satellites were destroyed by the geomagnetic storm, which brought significant financial, aerospace and public influences. In this letter, we reveal the space weather process during 3–4 February 2022 geomagnetic disturbances, from the Sun all the way to the sa...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2022-08-01
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| Series: | Space Weather |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2022SW003152 |
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| author | Tong Dang Xiaolei Li Bingxian Luo Ruoxi Li Binzheng Zhang Kevin Pham Dexin Ren Xuetao Chen Jiuhou Lei Yuming Wang |
| author_facet | Tong Dang Xiaolei Li Bingxian Luo Ruoxi Li Binzheng Zhang Kevin Pham Dexin Ren Xuetao Chen Jiuhou Lei Yuming Wang |
| author_sort | Tong Dang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract On 4 February 2022, 38 Starlink satellites were destroyed by the geomagnetic storm, which brought significant financial, aerospace and public influences. In this letter, we reveal the space weather process during 3–4 February 2022 geomagnetic disturbances, from the Sun all the way to the satellite orbiting atmosphere. Initiated by an M1.0 class flare and the following coronal mass ejection (CME), a moderate geomagnetic storm was stimulated on 3rd February by the CME arrival at Earth. Subsequently, another moderate storm was triggered on 4th February by the passage of another CME. Model simulations driven by solar wind show that the first geomagnetic storm induced around 20% atmospheric density perturbations at 210 km altitude on 3rd February. The unexpected subsequent storm on 4th February led to a density enhancement of around 20%–30% at around 210 km. The resulting atmospheric drag can be even larger, since the regional density enhancement was over 60% and the satellite orbits were continuously decaying. This event brings forth the urgent requirements of better understanding and accurate prediction of the space weather as well as collaborations between industry and space weather community. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-0ef29d1ffd7c47e2b359dd87a4e3ec99 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1542-7390 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2022-08-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Space Weather |
| spelling | doaj-art-0ef29d1ffd7c47e2b359dd87a4e3ec992025-01-14T16:27:07ZengWileySpace Weather1542-73902022-08-01208n/an/a10.1029/2022SW003152Unveiling the Space Weather During the Starlink Satellites Destruction Event on 4 February 2022Tong Dang0Xiaolei Li1Bingxian Luo2Ruoxi Li3Binzheng Zhang4Kevin Pham5Dexin Ren6Xuetao Chen7Jiuhou Lei8Yuming Wang9CAS Key Laboratory of Geospsace Environment School of Earth and Space Sciences University of Science and Technology of China Hefei ChinaCAS Key Laboratory of Geospsace Environment School of Earth and Space Sciences University of Science and Technology of China Hefei ChinaCenter for Space Science and Applied Research Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing ChinaCAS Key Laboratory of Geospsace Environment School of Earth and Space Sciences University of Science and Technology of China Hefei ChinaDepartment of Earth Sciences The University of Hong Kong Pokfulam ChinaHigh Altitude Observatory National Center for Atmospheric Research Boulder CO USACAS Key Laboratory of Geospsace Environment School of Earth and Space Sciences University of Science and Technology of China Hefei ChinaCAS Key Laboratory of Geospsace Environment School of Earth and Space Sciences University of Science and Technology of China Hefei ChinaCAS Key Laboratory of Geospsace Environment School of Earth and Space Sciences University of Science and Technology of China Hefei ChinaCAS Key Laboratory of Geospsace Environment School of Earth and Space Sciences University of Science and Technology of China Hefei ChinaAbstract On 4 February 2022, 38 Starlink satellites were destroyed by the geomagnetic storm, which brought significant financial, aerospace and public influences. In this letter, we reveal the space weather process during 3–4 February 2022 geomagnetic disturbances, from the Sun all the way to the satellite orbiting atmosphere. Initiated by an M1.0 class flare and the following coronal mass ejection (CME), a moderate geomagnetic storm was stimulated on 3rd February by the CME arrival at Earth. Subsequently, another moderate storm was triggered on 4th February by the passage of another CME. Model simulations driven by solar wind show that the first geomagnetic storm induced around 20% atmospheric density perturbations at 210 km altitude on 3rd February. The unexpected subsequent storm on 4th February led to a density enhancement of around 20%–30% at around 210 km. The resulting atmospheric drag can be even larger, since the regional density enhancement was over 60% and the satellite orbits were continuously decaying. This event brings forth the urgent requirements of better understanding and accurate prediction of the space weather as well as collaborations between industry and space weather community.https://doi.org/10.1029/2022SW003152geomagnetic stormspace weatheratmospheric dragStarlink satellites |
| spellingShingle | Tong Dang Xiaolei Li Bingxian Luo Ruoxi Li Binzheng Zhang Kevin Pham Dexin Ren Xuetao Chen Jiuhou Lei Yuming Wang Unveiling the Space Weather During the Starlink Satellites Destruction Event on 4 February 2022 Space Weather geomagnetic storm space weather atmospheric drag Starlink satellites |
| title | Unveiling the Space Weather During the Starlink Satellites Destruction Event on 4 February 2022 |
| title_full | Unveiling the Space Weather During the Starlink Satellites Destruction Event on 4 February 2022 |
| title_fullStr | Unveiling the Space Weather During the Starlink Satellites Destruction Event on 4 February 2022 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Unveiling the Space Weather During the Starlink Satellites Destruction Event on 4 February 2022 |
| title_short | Unveiling the Space Weather During the Starlink Satellites Destruction Event on 4 February 2022 |
| title_sort | unveiling the space weather during the starlink satellites destruction event on 4 february 2022 |
| topic | geomagnetic storm space weather atmospheric drag Starlink satellites |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2022SW003152 |
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