Unveiling the space weather during the Starlink satellites destruction event on 4 February 2022

2022 · Unclear · Insufficient evidence

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UnclearInsufficient evidencePaper 719

Study snapshot

Publicationmanual · 2022

Study typeother

Reported directionUnclear

Evidence ratingInsufficient

Abstract

Unveiling the space weather during the Starlink satellites destruction event on 4 February 2022 Dang, T., Li, X., Luo, B., Li, R., Zhang, B., Pham, K., et al. (2022). Unveiling the space weather during the Starlink satellites destruction event on 4 February 2022. Space Weather, 20, e2022SW003152. doi: 10.1029/2022SW003152 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. Open access paper: agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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AI evidence extraction

Structured fields below were generated from the paper’s abstract and metadata to make the evidence easier to inspect. Automated extraction may be incomplete or incorrect; verify important details against the original paper.

Study typeother

Effect directionunclear

PopulationNot supplied

Sample sizeNot supplied

ExposureNot supplied

Evidence strengthInsufficientConfidence: 74% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

The paper describes the 3–4 February 2022 geomagnetic disturbances associated with an M1.0 flare and subsequent CMEs, reporting model-simulated atmospheric density perturbations of ~20% at 210 km on 3 February and ~20%–30% at ~210 km on 4 February, with regional density enhancement over 60%. It links these density enhancements to increased atmospheric drag and continuous orbit decay during the event in which 38 Starlink satellites were destroyed.

Outcomes measured

Geomagnetic storm impacts on satellites
Atmospheric density perturbations/enhancements at ~210 km altitude
Atmospheric drag and satellite orbit decay
Space weather process from solar flare/CME to near-Earth environment

View raw extracted JSON

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  "outcomes": [
    "Geomagnetic storm impacts on satellites",
    "Atmospheric density perturbations/enhancements at ~210 km altitude",
    "Atmospheric drag and satellite orbit decay",
    "Space weather process from solar flare/CME to near-Earth environment"
  ],
  "main_findings": "The paper describes the 3–4 February 2022 geomagnetic disturbances associated with an M1.0 flare and subsequent CMEs, reporting model-simulated atmospheric density perturbations of ~20% at 210 km on 3 February and ~20%–30% at ~210 km on 4 February, with regional density enhancement over 60%. It links these density enhancements to increased atmospheric drag and continuous orbit decay during the event in which 38 Starlink satellites were destroyed.",
  "effect_direction": "unclear",
  "limitations": [],
  "evidence_strength": "insufficient",
  "confidence": 0.74,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "Starlink",
    "geomagnetic storm",
    "space weather",
    "coronal mass ejection",
    "solar flare",
    "atmospheric density",
    "thermosphere",
    "atmospheric drag",
    "orbit decay"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": []
}

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AI-extracted fields are generated from the abstract and metadata and may be incomplete or incorrect. This material is for informational purposes and is not medical advice.

Identifiers and source

DOI: 10.1029/2022sw003152
PubMed: Not supplied

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