SpaceX recently started launching the mini versions of its next-gen Starlink satellites. However, instead of orbiting the planet and providing internet connection anywhere, one of these satellites has dropped back to Earth, as Gizmodo reports.
That satellite, designated as 30062, returned to the Earth’s atmosphere on Monday off the coast of California. Its re-entry was tweeted by Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist that tracks SpaceX’s internet satellites.
There is no reason to panic about falling objects, as the Starlink satellite most likely burned up during the re-entry.
McDowell pointed out three other V2 Minis were gaining altitudes to reach their intended operational orbits. 30062 however, went through a controlled deorbit maneuver. Other watchers corroborate McDowell’s claims.
Three of the Starlink V2Mini sats (30058, 30042, 30051) have resumed orbit raising, while Starliink 30062 reentered at 0850 UTC Apr 3 off the coast of California pic.twitter.com/viv6daE4Gv
— Jonathan McDowell (@planet4589) April 3, 2023
Starlink Insider noted in March that the Mini satellite batch was falling instead of rising. As speculations about the satellite orbits grew, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted the satellites were experiencing some issues. He added that some would be deorbited and others would still be tested. This means others might join the recently deorbited satellite.
Lot of new technology in Starlink V2, so we’re experiencing some issues, as expected.
Some sats will be deorbited, others will be tested thoroughly before raising altitude above Space Station.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 22, 2023
The next-gen satellites were launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket at the end of February. They are mini versions of Starlink’s traditional satellites and would fill the gap as demand for the service grows until SpaceX is ready to launch the heavier version.
