Did Solar Storm Zap Starlink Satellites? After Musk's Warning, Here's What Happened

SpaceX on Sunday confirmed that its satellites in orbit successfully survived the geometric storm over the weekend, despite company CEO Elon Musk warning that they are under “a lot of pressure” as of Saturday.

What Happened: “All Starlink satellites on-orbit weathered the geomagnetic storm and remain healthy,” SpaceX informed via social media platform X. Through the weekend, Musk said that the satellites were under a lot of pressure but holding up. He also termed the storm a “major” one.

SpaceX has nearly 6,000 Starlink satellites in orbit, according to Astronomer Jonathan McDowell who tracks them.

Why It Matters: The sun has produced moderate to strong solar flares since Wednesday. Solar material eruptions accompanying these flares, called coronal mass ejections (CMEs), cause geomagnetic storms when they reach Earth's surface and pose the risk of disrupting power and communications due to their impact on infrastructure in near-Earth orbit and Earth's surface.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) had warned of a geomagnetic storm for Friday evening and said that storm conditions may last through the weekend. Auroras lit the sky in different parts of the country over the weekend from the storm.

The NOAA has issued one more geomagnetic storm watch for May 14, with chances of aurora becoming visible over some northern and upper Midwest states from New York to Idaho.

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