The sun is killing off SpaceX's Starlink satellites

Eruptions from the sun are shortening the lives of satellites in Earth orbit, particularly large constellations like SpaceX’s Starlink—which could be both beneficial and a cause for concern. The sun goes through an 11-year cycle of activity, peaking with a period known as solar maximum, which most recently occurred in late 2024. During these periods, increased eruptions from the sun can create geomagnetic storms that heat our planet’s atmosphere, causing it to swell outwards in size and increasing drag on satellites. Now, Denny Oliveira at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland and his colleagues have investigated how much of an effect this was having on Starlink. “We found that when we have geomagnetic storms, satellites re-enter faster than expected [without solar activity],” he says. During solar maximum, the lifetime of a satellite could be reduced by up to 10 days, the researchers say. This effect is only becoming apparent now because of a boom in satellite launches, particularly by SpaceX.