The 10 October 2024 geomagnetic storm may have caused the premature reentry of a Starlink satellite
In this short communication, we qualitatively analyze possible effects of the 10 October 2024 geomagnetic storm on accelerating the reentry of a Starlink satellite from very low-Earth orbit (VLEO). The storm took place near the maximum of solar cycle (SC) 25, which has shown to be more intense than...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-01-01
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| author | Denny M. Oliveira Denny M. Oliveira Eftyhia Zesta Dibyendu Nandy Dibyendu Nandy |
| author_facet | Denny M. Oliveira Denny M. Oliveira Eftyhia Zesta Dibyendu Nandy Dibyendu Nandy |
| author_sort | Denny M. Oliveira |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In this short communication, we qualitatively analyze possible effects of the 10 October 2024 geomagnetic storm on accelerating the reentry of a Starlink satellite from very low-Earth orbit (VLEO). The storm took place near the maximum of solar cycle (SC) 25, which has shown to be more intense than SC24. Based on preliminary geomagnetic indices, the 10 October 2024, along with the 10 May 2024, were the most intense events since the well-known Halloween storms of October/November 2003. By looking at a preliminary version of the Dst index and altitudes along with velocities extracted from two-line element (TLE) data of the Starlink-1089 (SL-1089) satellite, we observe a possible connection between storm main phase onset and a sharp decay of SL-1089. The satellite was predicted to reenter on 22 October, but it reentered on 12 October, 10 days before schedule. The sharp altitude decay of SL-1089 revealed by TLE data coincides with the storm main phase onset. We compare the deorbiting altitudes of another three satellites during different geomagnetic conditions and observe that the day difference between actual and predicted reentries increases for periods with higher geomagnetic activity. Therefore, we call for future research to establish the eventual causal relationship between storm occurrence and satellite orbital decay. As predicted by previous works, SC25 is already producing extreme geomagnetic storms with unprecedented satellite orbital drag effects and consequences for current megaconstellations in VLEO. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-6403284ebfaf4f62a555b62f2ecb752a |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2296-987X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
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| series | Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences |
| spelling | doaj-art-6403284ebfaf4f62a555b62f2ecb752a2025-01-06T06:59:18ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences2296-987X2025-01-011110.3389/fspas.2024.15221391522139The 10 October 2024 geomagnetic storm may have caused the premature reentry of a Starlink satelliteDenny M. Oliveira0Denny M. Oliveira1Eftyhia Zesta2Dibyendu Nandy3Dibyendu Nandy4Goddard Planetary Heliophysics Institute, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, United StatesGeospace Physics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, United StatesGeospace Physics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, United StatesDepartment of Physical Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, Kolkata, IndiaCenter of Excellence in Space Sciences India, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, Kolkata, IndiaIn this short communication, we qualitatively analyze possible effects of the 10 October 2024 geomagnetic storm on accelerating the reentry of a Starlink satellite from very low-Earth orbit (VLEO). The storm took place near the maximum of solar cycle (SC) 25, which has shown to be more intense than SC24. Based on preliminary geomagnetic indices, the 10 October 2024, along with the 10 May 2024, were the most intense events since the well-known Halloween storms of October/November 2003. By looking at a preliminary version of the Dst index and altitudes along with velocities extracted from two-line element (TLE) data of the Starlink-1089 (SL-1089) satellite, we observe a possible connection between storm main phase onset and a sharp decay of SL-1089. The satellite was predicted to reenter on 22 October, but it reentered on 12 October, 10 days before schedule. The sharp altitude decay of SL-1089 revealed by TLE data coincides with the storm main phase onset. We compare the deorbiting altitudes of another three satellites during different geomagnetic conditions and observe that the day difference between actual and predicted reentries increases for periods with higher geomagnetic activity. Therefore, we call for future research to establish the eventual causal relationship between storm occurrence and satellite orbital decay. As predicted by previous works, SC25 is already producing extreme geomagnetic storms with unprecedented satellite orbital drag effects and consequences for current megaconstellations in VLEO.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fspas.2024.1522139/fullgeomagnetic stormssatellite megaconstellationsthermospheric mass densitysatellite orbital dragsatellite reentry |
| spellingShingle | Denny M. Oliveira Denny M. Oliveira Eftyhia Zesta Dibyendu Nandy Dibyendu Nandy The 10 October 2024 geomagnetic storm may have caused the premature reentry of a Starlink satellite Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences geomagnetic storms satellite megaconstellations thermospheric mass density satellite orbital drag satellite reentry |
| title | The 10 October 2024 geomagnetic storm may have caused the premature reentry of a Starlink satellite |
| title_full | The 10 October 2024 geomagnetic storm may have caused the premature reentry of a Starlink satellite |
| title_fullStr | The 10 October 2024 geomagnetic storm may have caused the premature reentry of a Starlink satellite |
| title_full_unstemmed | The 10 October 2024 geomagnetic storm may have caused the premature reentry of a Starlink satellite |
| title_short | The 10 October 2024 geomagnetic storm may have caused the premature reentry of a Starlink satellite |
| title_sort | 10 october 2024 geomagnetic storm may have caused the premature reentry of a starlink satellite |
| topic | geomagnetic storms satellite megaconstellations thermospheric mass density satellite orbital drag satellite reentry |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fspas.2024.1522139/full |
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