Science & Space Roundup: Top News of the Day (Dec 19)

Here are today’s most important updates from the realm of Science and Space. Solar Storm Chaos: Researchers Warn of Potential Satellite Collision Risks A new scientific study has raised serious concerns about the vulnerability of satellites in low earth orbit (LEO), warning that a powerful solar storm could trigger a catastrophic chain of collisions within about 3 days if satellite control systems fail. LEO, home to tens of thousands of satellites, has become increasingly crowded as constellations from companies like SpaceX's Starlink expand rapidly, heightening the risk of collisions and space debris. Researchers describe the current orbital environment as a fragile "house of cards," where individual satellites must constantly perform collision-avoidance maneuvers to prevent impact with other objects. If a major geomagnetic event, such as a coronal mass ejection from the Sun, disrupted these systems, calculations indicate it could take as little as 2.8 days for a catastrophic event to ...

Soham Halder

• 1 day ago
• 3 minutes read