A second Starlink satellite exploded in orbit | Hacker News Reader

A second Starlink satellite exploded in orbit

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49 pointswmf22 comments

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Fortunately,

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

Filing “fragment creation event” alongside “rapid unintended disassembly”.

A “fragment creation event” that was “likely caused by an internal energetic source”.

And "surrounded by too much hot air."

https://xcancel.com/LeoLabs_Space/status/2038680177408880719

Source: https://x.com/LeoLabs_Space/status/2038680177408880719

Second? When was the first?

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

> When was the first?

17 December 2025, per the thread.

Do they have pressurized gas/liquid onboard that could explode or is this most likely a collision?

If it were a collision, it would be far more noteworthy and likely in the title

why would it be more noteworthy?

It would involve a failure in coordination, observation, or management of orbits. These things make adjustments more often than people realize (aiui)

They have argon gas for the ion thrusters that adjust the orbits.

Tubes must have gotten clogged

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

Really? How many Starlink satellites have blown up? How many F9 second stages?

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.

hate to be pedantic, but for 2 out of N, n would have to be the sum of all satellites including the exploded ones

You’re probably right but the question isn’t mine in the first place; look up some data and you’re set to discuss with OP. I was constructing communication examples, not mathematically-correct ones. Guess I did well enough at that!

> and well elo's stuff does blow up regularly

[citations needed]

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvim4rsNHkQ

no need for a citation, as anything ELO does that can be used against him is blown out of any proportion in the press, and this is a completly self evident reality, so n number of incidents multiplied by a rabid anti elo press prodcluces a haze, through which even elo, could shoot at his own stuff, and shrug given the cynisism and mountains of false news, that fog becomes tricky to figure out, and so ends up as a pivot point for those who are looking for new tactical advantages.

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