(RepublicanNews.org)Elon Musk released a short statement on the predicament facing his SpaceX company’s satellites on Friday July 12, appearing to confirm that efforts to fix the struggling satellites would “probably not work”.
The attempted fix came a day after the 20 Starlink satellites were launched into space using a SpaceX rocket launched from California. The rocket failed to complete its “second burn”, resulting in the satellites being stuck in a lower orbit than initially planned. According to SpaceX, the problem arose when an oxygen tank suffered a leak and caused problems with the rocket’s flight.
With the satellites stuck in a low orbit, they will most likely end up re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere and burning up. SpaceX’s statement emphasized that despite the expected destruction of the satellites, there would be no threat either to other satellites or to human life or property on Earth. Musk’s statement shared on X, formerly Twitter, explained that his company planned to update the satellite’s software to try to boost the power to the thrusters, but said that he held out little hope for any success. Musk joked that “unlike a Star Trek episode”, this last-ditch attempt to save the day was unlikely to succeed.
Due to the rocket’s problems, the satellites were released at around 84 miles above the Earth, or around half the elevation they should have achieved. The satellites have since been affected by atmospheric drag due to their low altitude, meaning that for every orbit they complete, they fall a further three miles.
The failure of the Falcon 9 rocket to correctly launch marks the first such problem for SpaceX in almost a decade. In 2015, a rocket failed to launch during a space station cargo delivery mission. Currently, the company has over 6,000 of its Starlink satellites orbiting the Earth and providing internet connection to some of the most remote regions of the globe. Despite this, the Federal Aviation Administration has made it clear that the company will have to address the Falcon 9’s failings before launching any further missions.
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