Ground control personnel were still trying to save the compact, flat satellites by putting them in a kind of sleep mode and in a flight mode intended to reduce drag. But the atmospheric forces were too strong. According to SpaceX, the satellites might not activate and ascend to higher, more stable orbits. The satellites were hit by the solar storm while they were in a transitional position. SpaceX deliberately sends them into this unusually low orbit so that duds re-enter the atmosphere and pose no danger to spacecraft.
