Mysterious light beams in Turkish skies turn out to be Elon Musk's satellites
Technology and Infrastructure Minister Mustafa Varank on May 7 clarified that the mysterious beams of light which were visible over Turkish skies on May 6 were the solar panel glare of Starlink satellites that Elon Musk's SpaceX launched into orbit.
Duvar English
Citizens in Turkey were on May 6 puzzled about several beams of light that were visible over Turkish skies. Social media users took to Twitter with regards to this phenomenon and shared the footage of what they initially thought to be flying objects.
Technology and Infrastructure Minister Mustafa Varank clarified the situation on May 7, saying that beams of light were the solar panel glare of Starlink satellites that U.S. entrepreneur Elon Musk's SpaceX launched into orbit on May 4.
The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) also released a statement saying: "Glows of light stemming from these satellites' solar panels can be sometimes watched from the earth."
Launched to commemorate Star Wars Day, the Starlink satellites are part of SpaceX's satellite internet service that reportedly attempts to provide fast, reliable internet to populations with little or no connectivity.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched a full stack of 60 Starlink internet satellites into orbit on May 4.