Last week, the upper stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket unexpectedly accumulated substantial ice before experiencing a 'rapid unscheduled disassembly,' losing the 20 Starlink satellites on board, a rare event given its past success streak.
Despite SpaceX's efforts to salvage the satellites by contacting 10 of them and trying to raise orbit using ion thrusters, the satellites, due to high drag at a low orbit point, are expected to re-enter Earth's atmosphere and burn up, posing no threat to others in orbit or public safety.
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