SpaceX Successfully Replaces Broken 40 Starlink Satellites Destroyed by Geomagnetic Storm

SpaceX launched a new batch of Starlink satellites from the Space Launch Complex (SLC-40) at Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Monday.

After being postponed on Sunday due to weather conditions, Elon Musk's company successfully launched the mission at 9:44 a.m. ET with a Falcon 9 rocket.

The company's most recent launch had problems when its cargo of 49 Starlink satellites was deployed. Around 40 of them drew back down to burn up in Earth's atmosphere due to geomagnetic storm debris.

SpaceX announced the satellites' successful deployment on Twitter.

SpaceX Smoothly Replaces More Than 40 Starlink Satellites

Mashable said the launch appeared to go off smoothly, with the rocket's first stage booster landing in the Atlantic Ocean for only almost 10 minutes after liftoff and stage separation.

The Falcon 9 rocket has previously launched five Starlink flights and the Crew Demo-2, ANASIS-II, CRS-21, Transporter-1, and Transporter-3 missions for SpaceX.

About one hour and three minutes into the mission, the 46 additional Starlink satellites were launched into low Earth orbit, joining the estimated 1,500 already in space.

SpaceX added in a separate Tweet that the first stage rocket detached from the second stage carrying the payloads and landed nine minutes later in the Atlantic Ocean on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship.

Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, intends to launch 42,000 satellites into orbit, which may improve internet speed but has long raised worries about space trash.

About SpaceX Starlink Satellites

The landing represents the 100th time a Falcon 9 booster has been successfully recovered and the 107th booster recovery overall, including Falcon Heavy missions, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

For the fourth time, SpaceX was recycling the two fairing parts and would attempt to recover them at sea. So far, the business has flown 32 flights with recovered fairing parts as part of cost-cutting efforts.

Phys.org said the new batch would bring the total number of Starlinks deployed to over 2,100. However, 200 never got operational or are no longer operating.

Since the first test versions of the 570-pound satellites were put up in 2018, this will be the 22nd Starlink launch. The business has received authority to deploy 4,408 Starlinks, each of which will orbit at the height of roughly 341 miles.

When fully operational, the Starlink initiative is expected to bring in billions of cash from millions of Internet customers worldwide, helping to fund SpaceX's Mars missions.

With future launches onboard its in-development Starship rocket, SpaceX seeks FCC authority to boost its Starlink presence to over 30,000 people. Other corporations, such as Amazon, are developing satellite networks that will raise the risk of space debris.

The Union of Concerned Scientists keeps track of how many working satellites are in orbit. There were 4,852 satellites in orbit as of January 1, with 4,078 in low Earth orbit.

Check out more news and information on Starlink in Science Times.