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Published 04:03 IST, January 31st 2025

Elon Musk's SpaceX Starlink Satellite Burns Up In US Night Sky Producing 62 Fireball | WATCH

A SpaceX Starlink internet satellite made a thrilling exit from space, lighting up the night sky over the US Midwest with a spectacular fireball.

Reported by: Digital Desk
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Elon Musk's SpaceX Starlink Satellite Burns Up In US Night Sky Producing 62 Fireball | WATCH
Elon Musk's SpaceX Starlink Satellite Burns Up In US Night Sky Producing 62 Fireball | WATCH | Image: X

A SpaceX Starlink internet satellite made a thrilling exit from space, lighting up the night sky over the US Midwest with a spectacular fireball. The satellite, identified as Starlink 5693, reportedly burnt up in Earth's atmosphere in the wee hours of Wednesday and was witnessed by stargazers across Wisconsin, Michigan, and Illinois.

A skygazer, while sharing the video, wrote on X, “Residents in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Michigan watched in awe as Space debris from a Starlink satellite lit up the night sky.” "WOAH. Something big just broke apart over Northern Illinois. What a sight!" exclaimed another skywatcher on the social media site.

The video with the post shows a stream of fiery space debris streaking over a rooftop and trees.

Astronomer Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics, who tracks satellite reentries, confirmed that the space debris was indeed a SpaceX Starlink 5693 satellite. "Starlink 5693 appears to have reentered over the southern Wisconsin/Michigan area at about 0303 to 0305 UTC Jan 29 (9.03 to 9.05 pm CST) and was widely observed from neighbouring regions including Chicago," McDowell wrote on X.

The Starlink satellite reentry sparked at least 62 fireball reports to the American Meteor Society, with witnesses sharing images and photos of the event. In one such video, recorded by a resident of Illinois, the fireball streaks over the roof of a home and trees, while another video, recorded by a resident in Wisconsin, captured the spectacle as well.

Notably, Starlink 5693 was one of thousands of Starlink internet satellites SpaceX has launched into orbit as part of a global satellite mega constellation designed to provide high-speed internet service across Earth. SpaceX typically launches Starlink satellites in batches of 20 or more.

"They are designed to last around five years in low Earth orbit before they are deorbited and burn up in Earth's atmosphere," McDowell explained. At the end of their lives, Starlink satellites use electric thrusters to lower themselves to an altitude of about 155 miles (250 kilometres), at which point atmospheric drag slows them further until they fall from space.

The process takes about a week. The result is a visually stunning fireball across the night sky, but it's a common event for SpaceX's Starlink constellation, which currently consists of 6,900 operational satellites, according to McDowell's records.

"They are retiring and incinerating about 4 or 5 Starlinks every day at the moment, spread across the world," McDowell wrote on X.
 

Updated 04:08 IST, January 31st 2025