SpaceX has plans to launch a constellation of 12,000 satellites. This network will be able to provide broadband to anywhere in the world. (Credit: Reproduction/Disclosure)
Last Sunday night (30) a strange luminous phenomenon appeared in the sky of Maranhão and Tocantins. According to experts, it was an unwanted re-entry into our atmosphere – perhaps a small Starlink satellite, launched in 2020.
SpaceX has plans to put a constellation of 12,000 satellites into operation (with the potential to expand to 42,000). This network will be able to provide broadband to anywhere in the world.
+ Anatel approves operations of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite network
Musk’s satellites are not geostationary. The plan is for them to occupy much lower orbits, between 340 km and 1,150 km in altitude. This shortens the distance the signal needs to travel and improves latency. These small satellites from SpaceX’s proprietary network weigh around 260 kg. When they reach the end of their lives, their graveyard is Earth.
Residents of the city of Imperatriz (MA) and Araguaína (TO) were able to record the moment when a satellite leaves orbit and disintegrates in our atmosphere. The fireball crossed the sky around 23:00 (Brasília time).
An indication that it was space junk was the slow speed of the fireball, that is, the passage lasted more than 20 seconds. If it was a meteorite it would be much faster, as if it were an airplane.
“It was very bright, it had a bigger ball and a lot of small balls together, and it passed slowly,” said one resident who saw the fireball and reported an orange glow.
There are more and more satellites filling the Earth’s orbit. As such, it starts to be “normal” the reentry of parts, and space junk after the end of your mission. However, we will start to see more and more satellites on their way to destruction in the atmosphere.
Some of them have an expiration date, others have defects, and in the end they are “dismantled”, incinerated by friction as they pass through the layers of gases until they reach the ground. These events are not always controlled.
When they reach our atmosphere at a very high speed, and when they burn, they generate a luminous phenomenon, as seen in Brazil. Track colors depend on equipment construction, fuel and gas containment.
During the process, the object destroys itself, disintegrates almost completely. In this sense, if these particles hit the ground, they will be very small. So stay calm. The risk of injury or destruction from this debris is virtually non-existent.
know more
+ SP: Man dies standing, leaning against car, and scene scares residents on the coast
+ One twin became vegan, the other ate meat. Check the result
+ Reincarnation in history: an age-old belief
+ Andressa Urach asks for money on the internet: ‘Help me pay my card bill’
+ Horoscope: check today’s forecast for your sign
+ CNH: see what you need to know for the application and renewal
+ See which were the most stolen cars in SP in 2021
+ Expedition identifies giant squid responsible for ship sinking in 2011
+ Everything you need to know before buying a crockpot
+ US Agency warns: never wash raw chicken meat
+ What is known about fluorone?
+ Trick to squeeze lemons becomes a craze on social media
+ IPVA 2022 SP: see how to consult and pay the tax
#Starlink #satellite #enters #atmosphere #explosion #Brazil