Unveiling the Space Weather During the Starlink Satellites Destruction Event on 4 February 2022

On 4 February 2022, 38 Starlink satellites were destroyed by the geomagnetic storm, which brought significant financial, aerospace and public influences. In this letter, we reveal the space weather process during 3–4 February 2022 geomagnetic disturbances, from the Sun all the way to the satellite orbiting atmosphere. Initiated by an M1.0 class flare and the following coronal mass ejection (CME), a moderate geomagnetic storm was stimulated on 3rd February by the CME arrival at Earth. Subsequently, another moderate storm was triggered on 4th February by the passage of another CME. Model simulations driven by solar wind show that the first geomagnetic storm induced around 20% atmospheric density perturbations at 210 km altitude on 3rd February. The unexpected subsequent storm on 4th February led to a density enhancement of around 20%–30% at around 210 km. The resulting atmospheric drag can be even larger, since the regional density enhancement was over 60% and the satellite orbits were continuously decaying. This event brings forth the urgent requirements of better understanding and accurate prediction of the space weather as well as collaborations between industry and space weather community. Plain Language Summary The operating satellites in low‐Earth orbit give the rapid information transfer between the satellites and the Earth. At the same time, these satellites are continuously slowed down and affected by the dense atmosphere of the Earth, which is referred to as the atmospheric drag. This effect can be greater during space weather events such as geomagnetic storms. Over the past years, thousands of Starlink satellites have been deployed by the SpaceX company into low‐Earth orbit. However, on 4th February, 38 Starlink satellites were destroyed before they were lifted to a higher Earth orbit, which brought an economic loss estimated to be several tens of millions of dollars. Geomagnetic indices indicated two successive geomagnetic storms, which could warm the upper atmosphere and increase the atmospheric drag. In this work, we provide a comprehensive review on the process of space weather during this event from the Sun all the way to the terrestrial atmosphere. We have illustrated the solar eruption, solar wind propagation, and atmospheric density enhancement, using both observed data and model simulations. This study calls for more accurate modeling and better understanding of space weather as well as collaborations between industry and space weather co