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Solar Storm Destroys 40 Satellites

SpaceX Starlink 5 satellites are pictured in the sky seen from Svendborg on South Funen, Denmark April 21, 2020. Ritzau Scanpix/Mads Claus Rasmussen via REUTERS
SpaceX Starlink 5 satellites are pictured in the sky seen from Svendborg on South Funen, Denmark April 21, 2020. Ritzau Scanpix/Mads Claus Rasmussen via REUTERS
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Solar Storm Destroys 40 Satellites

SpaceX Starlink 5 satellites are pictured in the sky seen from Svendborg on South Funen, Denmark April 21, 2020. Ritzau Scanpix/Mads Claus Rasmussen via REUTERS
SpaceX Starlink 5 satellites are pictured in the sky seen from Svendborg on South Funen, Denmark April 21, 2020. Ritzau Scanpix/Mads Claus Rasmussen via REUTERS

A geomagnetic storm triggered by a large burst of radiation from the sun has disabled at least 40 of the 49 satellites newly launched by SpaceX as part of its Starlink internet communications network, the company said.

The incident was believed to mark the largest collective loss of satellites stemming from a single geomagnetic event, Harvard-Smithsonian astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell said. The company's announcement, posted on its website said the satellites were stricken last Friday, Feb. 4, a day after they were launched to a preliminary "low-deployment" orbit about 210 km above Earth.

SpaceX said it routinely deploys its satellites to such low orbits at first so they can quickly and safely be allowed to fall back toward Earth and incinerate on re-entry if a malfunction is detected during initial system checkouts. But SpaceX left unclear whether the company had anticipated the severity of the extreme space weather conditions it faced, fueled by a solar storm days earlier, when it sent its latest batch of 49 satellites aloft.

According to SpaceX, the speed and severity of the solar storm drastically increased atmospheric density at the satellites' low-orbit altitude, creating intense friction or drag that knocked out at least 40 of them.

Starlink operators tried commanding the satellites into a "safe-mode" orbital configuration allowing them to fly edge-on to minimize drag, but those efforts failed for most of the satellites, forcing them into lower levels of the atmosphere where they burned up on re-entry, SpaceX said.

"This is unprecedented as far as I know," McDowell told Reuters. He said he believed it marked the single greatest loss of satellites from a solar storm, and first mass satellite failure caused by an increase in atmospheric density.

SpaceX, the Los Angeles area-based rocket company founded by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, has launched hundreds of small satellites into orbit since 2019 as part of his Starlink service for broadband internet.

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Varieties

Chinese Tea Hub Branches into Coffee as Tastes Change

A worker raking coffee beans during the drying process at the Xiaowazi, or Little Hollow, coffee plantation in Pu'er - AFP
A worker raking coffee beans during the drying process at the Xiaowazi, or Little Hollow, coffee plantation in Pu'er - AFP
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Chinese Tea Hub Branches into Coffee as Tastes Change

A worker raking coffee beans during the drying process at the Xiaowazi, or Little Hollow, coffee plantation in Pu'er - AFP
A worker raking coffee beans during the drying process at the Xiaowazi, or Little Hollow, coffee plantation in Pu'er - AFP

At a mountainside cafe in southwestern China, Liao Shihao brews handfuls of locally grown beans into steaming cups of coffee, a modern twist on the region's traditional drink.

For centuries, Pu'er in Yunnan province has given its name to a type of richly fermented tea -- sometimes styled "pu-erh" -- famous across East Asia and beyond.

But as younger Chinese cultivate a taste for punchy espressos, frothy lattes and flat whites, growers are increasingly branching out into tea's historic rival.

"People are coming to try our hand-drip coffee... and more fully experience the flavours it brings," Liao, 25, told AFP.
"In the past, they mostly went for commercialised coffee, and wouldn't dabble in the artisanal varieties," he said.

Liao´s family has run the Xiaowazi, or Little Hollow, coffee plantation for three generations.

Nestled in a shady valley, spindly coffee trees line its steep hillsides, their cherry-like fruit drying on wooden pallets outside.

When AFP visited this month, clusters of tourists sipped boutique brews in the airy cafe overlooking its verdant slopes.

"It's very good," said Cai Shuwen, 21, as he perched on a bar stool lifting sample after sample to his lips.

"Even though some beans are more astringent than I imagined, others have exceeded my expectations."

- Brewing success -

Every year, Pu'er's plantations sell tens of thousands of tons of coffee to major Chinese cities, according to government data.

In metropolises such as Beijing and Shanghai, a thriving cafe scene has emerged in recent years, driven by people aged between 20 and 40.

To Liao, a trained roaster and barista, coffee from his home region possesses "a creamy flavour with a silky, viscous mouthfeel".

Modern commercial plantations only sprang up in Pu'er in the 1980s, and the area is still better known for its centuries-old tea trade.

Liao's grandfather, Liao Xiugui, said "nobody knew anything about coffee" when he arrived in Pu'er a few decades ago.

At the time, the older man was one of very few people in China who had studied coffee cultivation.

But the region's relatively high altitude and temperate climate were well-suited to the unfamiliar crop, the now 83-year-old told AFP.

"The quality of the coffee we plant here is strong but not too bitter, floral but not too heady, and slightly fruity," he added.

Free from artificial pesticides and interspersed with other species for biodiversity, Little Hollow yields about 500 tons of raw coffee fruit per year.

Liao Xiugui himself drinks two or three cups a day, and credits the caffeinated beverage for keeping him spry in his advanced years.

"Drinking coffee can make you younger and healthier... and prevent ageing," he smiled.

"Also, everyone is tired at work these days... and they want to give their brains a boost."

- Richer pickings -

China's coffee output has risen dramatically in recent years, though it still lags far behind traditional powerhouses such as Brazil, Vietnam and Colombia.

Yunnan, near three borders with Southeast Asian nations, accounts for virtually all of China's coffee production, much of it concentrated in Pu'er.

On a visit to Yunnan last month, President Xi Jinping said the province's coffee "represents China", according to state media.

Keen to further expand the sector, officials have rolled out policies to improve production, attract investment and boost exports, according to government statements.

They have also merged coffee production with tourism, dovetailing with a central government push to increase domestic consumption.

Longtime farmer Yu Dun, 51, said she had opened new income streams with plantation tours, homestays and a restaurant fusing coffee with the cuisine of her native Dai ethnicity.

Her prospects were bright, she said, adding that she also earned "10 times" more revenue from her beans since learning to process and roast them herself.

"We used to say only rich people could drink coffee, but that's all changed now," she said.