Overview

• NASA’s Denny Oliveira finds geomagnetic storms during solar maximum can shorten satellite lifetimes by up to 10 days by expanding the upper atmosphere.
• More than 7,000 Starlink satellites have been launched and 523 were tracked re-entering between 2020 and 2024, with daily de-orbit events projected soon.
• University of Birmingham’s Sean Elvidge says faster drag helps clear defunct satellites but poses challenges for operations below 400 km.
• Faster re-entries raise the chance of debris surviving descent, as shown by a 2.5 kg Starlink fragment found on a Saskatchewan farm in August 2024.
• With SpaceX planning tens of thousands more satellites, ongoing research is focusing on refining drag models and managing growing orbital debris risks.