Explore the latest developments concerning A SpaceX Starlink.
A SpaceX Starlink satellite is tumbling and falling out of space after partial breakup in orbit
An anomaly led to loss of contact with the satellite and "the release of a small number of trackable low relative velocity objects."
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One of SpaceX's Starlink broadband internet satellites suffered an anomaly in orbit on Wednesday (Dec. 17) and is now plunging toward Earth.
The mishap led to a loss of communication with the Starlink spacecraft, which was orbiting at an altitude of 260 miles (418 kilometers), according to the company.
In addition, "the anomaly led to venting of the propulsion tank, a rapid decay in semi-major axis by about 4 km [2.5 miles], and the release of a small number of trackable low relative velocity objects," representatives of Starlink, a company that's owned by SpaceX, said in an X post on Thursday morning (Dec. 18). That description suggests that the Starlink satellite's propulsion tank may have ruptured or suffered some other type of damage.
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Starlink satellite explodes, causing small debris field in space
A debris field comprised of a Starlink satellite's remains is floating through space, after a minor explosion broke off pieces of the tech and sent them tumbling around Earth's orbit.
Space X reported the anomaly earlier this week, which the company said resulted in trackable debris that included the satellite's propulsion tank and the largely intact satellite body, which is still in orbit. SpaceX says the satellite, which the company says isn't close enough to the International Space Station (ISS) to pose a risk to astronauts, will reenter the atmosphere and reach its "demise" in the next week.
"As the world’s largest satellite constellation operator, we are deeply committed to space safety. We take these events seriously. Our engineers are rapidly working to root cause and mitigate the source of the anomaly and are already in the process of deploying software to our vehicles that increases protections against this type of event," wrote SpaceX.
For more detailed information, explore updates concerning A SpaceX Starlink.