"SpaceX says it has lost control of a Starlink satellite that's now falling back to Earth after suffering an anomaly. The sudden loss of communications, drop in altitude, "venting of the propulsion tank," and "release of a small number of trackable low relative velocity objects," suggests the anomaly was some kind of explosion. SpaceX says it poses no threat to the crew of the ISS and will burn up in the atmosphere "within weeks.""
"The incident happened at 418km (260 miles), an increasingly crowded area known as low Earth orbit where over 24,000 objects, including satellites and debris, are currently being tracked. By the end of this decade, there could be as many as 70,000 satellites operating in that same region, mostly in the service of space internet constellations like Starlink being launched by private and government organizations in the US, China, and Europe."
SpaceX lost control of a Starlink satellite following an anomaly that caused a sudden loss of communications, an unexplained drop in altitude, venting of the propulsion tank, and the release of several trackable, low relative velocity objects. The combination of events suggests some type of explosion. SpaceX reported that the satellite poses no threat to the International Space Station crew and is expected to burn up in the atmosphere within weeks. The incident occurred at about 418 km altitude in low Earth orbit, where more than 24,000 objects are currently tracked. Rapid growth in satellite constellations could raise collision risks and increase space debris.
Read at The Verge
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