A second Starlink satellite exploded in orbit(twitter.com)
37 pointsby wmf8 hours ago7 comments
  • bombcar3 hours ago
    Filing “fragment creation event” alongside “rapid unintended disassembly”.
    • dragonwriter2 hours ago
      A “fragment creation event” that was “likely caused by an internal energetic source”.
  • porphyra7 hours ago
    Fortunately,

    > Due to the low altitude of the event, fragments from this anomaly will likely de-orbit within a few weeks.

  • manoDev3 hours ago
    Second? When was the first?

    Is this an instance of weaponization of the LEO? No statement from SpaceX?

    • dragonwriter2 hours ago
      > When was the first?

      17 December 2025, per the thread.

  • cozzyd4 hours ago
    Tubes must have gotten clogged
  • heyitsmedotjayb7 hours ago
    Do they have pressurized gas/liquid onboard that could explode or is this most likely a collision?
    • wmf7 hours ago
      They have argon gas for the ion thrusters that adjust the orbits.
    • verdverm7 hours ago
      If it were a collision, it would be far more noteworthy and likely in the title
  • metalman5 hours ago
    if, just saying, someone had a huge fucking laser and wanted something to plink away at, and happened to look up at night, most anywhere on the planet, ran the numbers and figured the odds, and well elo's stuff does blow up regularly
    • DarmokJalad17014 hours ago
      > and well elo's stuff does blow up regularly

      [citations needed]

    • NetMageSCW4 hours ago
      Really? How many Starlink satellites have blown up? How many F9 second stages?
      • altairprime3 hours ago
        There are a lot of better ways to present your point; for example:

        How many batteries supplied with Elon Musk’s companies’ products have encountered an unplanned combustion event after light or no damage?

        Does SpaceX use in-house or third-party batteries in their satellites?

        Is their explosion rate of 2(?) per N, where N is the number of unexploded SpaceX satellites, plausibly still within the statistical ranges defined by non-SpaceX satellites given the data available to us?

        Did the satellite deflect before it exploded or are the shard trajectories consistent with a zero-impact scenario?

        etc.