
A strong geomagnetic storm triggered stunning aurora displays but also disrupted satellite launches and oil rig operations.
SpaceX eventually launched those satellites, the first batch of 21 second-generation Starlink internet spacecraft, at 6:13 p.m. ET (2313 GMT) on Monday after the geomagnetic storm, classified by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as a strong G3 storm subsided. Liftoff occurred about 4.5 hours after the originally scheduled launch time.
SpaceX has been cooperating with NOAA since a mishap in February last year, which saw the company lose a batch of 40 satellites after launching them right into a relatively mild geomagnetic storm.
Comment: It doesn't seem to be a 'mishap', because SpaceX had probably done their homework; what they didn't, and probably couldn't fully account for, is how the atmosphere is clearly changing. Note that it was a 'relatively mild geomagnetic storm', but the impact it had seems to have been much greater than expected; as is the case with the report on this recent storm.
Comment: There have been no mainstream forecasters who have predicted the dramatic changes that we've been witnessing in our skies in recent years, and so we can probably safely assume that they don't really know what's in store; although a few renegade researchers have given us some ideas. But, if recent events are anything to go by, it looks like we'll see for ourselves, soon enough: