Articles | Volume 32, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/npg-32-75-2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/npg-32-75-2025
Research article
 | 
25 Mar 2025
Research article |  | 25 Mar 2025

NORAD tracking of the 2022 February Starlink satellites and the immediate loss of 32 satellites

Fernando L. Guarnieri, Bruce T. Tsurutani, Rajkumar Hajra, Ezequiel Echer, and Gurbax S. Lakhina

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Cited articles

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Short summary
On February 03 2022, SpaceX launched a new group of satellites for its Starlink constellation. This launch simultaneously released 49 satellites into orbits between 200 km and 250 km height. The launches occurred during a geomagnetic storm that was followed by a second storm. There was an immediate loss of 32 satellites. The satellite losses may have been caused by an unusually high level of atmospheric drag (unexplained by current theory or modeling) or a high level of satellite collisions.
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