The solar storm in May did more than just produce exceptional auroras. An analysis of US Space Force data has found more than 5,000 satellites had to alter their position to avoid deorbiting or crashing into each other.
A geomagnetic storm in May brought the best auroral displays in two decades, but it also battered satellites around the world.
"A single collision in orbit … can generate thousands of pieces of orbital debris or space junk that can persist for decades, centuries, or longer," Mr Parker said.Geomagnetic storms are nothing new. Every few years, the Sun releases a huge amount of energy and plasma aimed at the Earth. Brett Carter, a researcher in space physics and space weather at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology notes that SpaceX owned Starlink and other commercial satellite companiesThe new study bypassed these companies to get their data, instead taking publicly available information called two-line element data collected from the US Space Force, which tracks satellite positioning to avoid collisions.
The paper notes that partially due to the solar storm being poorly forecast, satellites had to "manoeuvre en masse" to avoid this drop in altitude. In an interesting twist, the May solar storm would have helped tackle a different issue for satellites: space debris.
Satellites Space Solar Storm Spacex Starlink
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