What's the story A recent NASA-led study has revealed that solar storms are shortening the lives of satellites in Earth's orbit, especially SpaceX's Starlink satellites. The research was conducted by Denny Oliveira at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. It shows how geomagnetic storms caused by the Sun's activity are increasing drag on these satellites and accelerating their re-entry into Earth's atmosphere. Eruption effects Solar maximum's impact on satellite lifespan The Sun goes through an 11-year cycle of activity, with the peak phase called solar maximum. During this period, solar eruptions intensify and create geomagnetic storms that heat up Earth's atmosphere and cause it to expand outward. These storms have been found to reduce a satellite's lifetime by as much as 10 days. The phenomenon was last observed in late 2024 when Oliveira and his team studied its effect on Starlink satellites. Fleet challenges