SpaceX Rocket Explosion Creates Massive Ionospheric Hole

- SpaceX's Starship rocket explosion last year created one of the largest holes ever detected in the ionosphere, stretching thousands of kilometers and lasting nearly an hour.
- The disturbance surprised researchers, highlighting gaps in understanding atmospheric processes and potential impacts on future autonomous vehicles requiring precise satellite navigation.
- The explosion's shockwaves turned the ionosphere into a neutral region, affecting satellite navigation signals over a vast area from Mexico's Yucatán peninsula to the southeastern United States.
- The ionospheric hole was smaller than the one caused by the 2022 Tongan volcano eruption but larger than the one from the 2013 Chelyabinsk meteor.
- Increasing rocket launch frequencies could pose growing challenges for satellite navigation, communications, and radio astronomy due to ionospheric disturbances.

Source: [Nature](https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-02841-4)