The return of SpaceXs Starlink-2200 satellite to Earth was the phenomenon seen Sunday night in the sky of Trs-os-Montes, a researcher from the Astrophysical Institute revealed this Monday, adding that the phenomenon does not represent a danger to the planet.

In Lusas remarks, researcher Nuno Peixinho, of the Institute of Astrophysics and Space Sciences (IA), explained that the phenomenon, shared by people on social media, led to believe it wasnt a meteor, but a re-entry into the atmosphere for some space junk. .

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And so it was. Indeed, it was SpaceXs Starlink-2200 satellite and it was expected to fall. Almost every day, one or more satellites enter low-atmospheric orbit. This time, we were lucky to see it, .

According to Nuno Bixenio, re-entry of space waste to Earth has no danger, even if it is done quickly to scrape the atmosphere.

He explained that a satellite orbiting the Earth returns at a speed of about 10 kilometers per second.

Besides the phenomenon seen at 22:00 from several locations in the Os Montes Terrace, two other space objects returned at dawn on Sunday, one in the equator region and the other north.

Everything is programmed so that these satellites evaporate on return, that is, nothing reaches the Earth. Aerodynamic pressure so that compressed air rises to more than 20 thousand degrees of temperature. At this temperature, the body heats up and evaporates, This also happens with shooting stars and space junk, he said, explaining.

Although this small space junk is not a danger to Earth, it is to space itself, that is, to astronauts, to the International Space Station, but also to Earth-orbiting equipment.

In 2020 alone, the International Space Station had to do three maneuvers to avoid space junk that it knew was going to pass by, he said.

in Lusa, Space debris is one of the challenges for astrophysics, Nuno Bixinho said, noting that several countries, such as Portugal, are investing and making increasing efforts to detect it.

Besides space junk, the researcher stressed that low-orbit satellites also pose a challenge to the study of space, arguing that it is necessary to find a balance.

The head of the Portuguese Space Agency (AEP), Ricardo Conde, was contacted by Lusa, he said so This space phenomenon was not an isolated case as two other satellites disintegrated several thousand kilometers above the Arabian Sea and the Sea of Korea.

All of this is something we will see more often because there is a new race into space looking for new services and because many constellations with thousands of satellites are being launched into space. [visualizaes] It was re-entered into the atmosphere of the SpaceX satellites, the AEP expert said.

According to Ricardo Conde, the satellites of SpaceXs Starlink network orbit at an altitude of between 500 and 550 kilometers and travel around the Earth in less than 80 minutes.

Theres a generation of satellites that I think were launched in 2019, some are re-entering the atmosphere. These re-entry are tests and theyre purposeful. Id even say theyre controlled. Theyre in the atmosphere so were not doing that, he stressed, stressing the continued increase space junk.

Ricardo Conde also explains that when a satellite begins to enter a low orbit, about 200 kilometers away, it reaches a very high speed, with atmospheric friction causing it to ignite and disintegrate.

He stressed that all this is good news because garbage is being removed from space.

Excerpt from:

meteor? No, the phenomenon in the sky of Tras-os-Montes was a SpaceX satellite - brytfmonline.com