A long-exposure photograph in the northern hemisphere showing satellites in the night sky
Alan Dyer/VWPics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
By Jonathan O’Callaghan,
Published by New Scientist, 23 January 2026
The company’s mega-constellation is having to perform a huge number of manoeuvres to prevent a collision in Earth orbit
A report filed by SpaceX with the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in late December reveals some startling information – including that its Starlink satellites had to perform about 300,000 collision-avoidance manoeuvres in 2025.
Starlink is a mega-constellation of satellites that beams the internet to the ground. The first Starlink satellites were launched in 2019; they now number about 9400, accounting for 65 per cent of all active satellites in orbit.
The FCC requires SpaceX to publish an update every six months on Starlink’s approach to safety, given that two satellites could produce thousands of pieces of debris if they were to collide in space, potentially rendering parts of Earth’s orbit unusable or leading to a cascade of collisions….
See: Full Article
