SpaceX plans to lower its Starlink satellites from orbiting at ~550km to ~480km in 2026 to improve space safety and reduce the likelihood of debris collisions
Starlink will begin a reconfiguration of its satellite constellation by lowering all of its satellites orbiting at around 550 km …
Reuters Rishabh Jaiswal
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Discussion
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@michaelnicollsx
Michael Nicolls
on x
Starlink is beginning a significant reconfiguration of its satellite constellation focused on increasing space safety. We are lowering all @Starlink satellites orbiting at ~550 km to ~480 km (~4400 satellites) over the course of 2026. The shell lowering is being tightly
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@wagamemnonglenn
@wagamemnonglenn
on x
@michaelnicollsx ... What happens when a de-orbited Starlink satellite descends thru the atmosphere? Is it a compact mass reaching land/water or does it disassemble completely?
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@marcushouse
@marcushouse
on x
Wow! That is a significant decrease in altitude. If I am understanding this right it should mean - Less chance of debris collision - Sightly lower latency - More drag on the sats to reduce their life time in orbit. The increased drag may seem bad, but I imagine this is simply
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@philipjohnston
Philip Johnston
on x
This is a very smart move 👏 Basically zero chance of a Kessler type event at that altitude
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@bassonbrain
Brian Basson
on x
@michaelnicollsx @Starlink And with the added benefit of lower latency of cause...
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@iniallanderson
Niall-Ian Anderson
on x
These are the people you want operating a mega constellation! Having the ability to lower the orbits of over 4000 sattelites is insane!
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@justin_je_mabie
Justin Mabie, PhD
on x
@michaelnicollsx @Starlink As NOAA assumes space traffic coordination we're worried about an upset creating a cascading debris field, especially during a large scale maneuver. Starlink is leading the way with amazing platform-platform coordination. We hope USSF and NOAA will leve…
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@teslatino
@teslatino
on x
@michaelnicollsx @Starlink This is such a great and proactive approach, that no doubt should also help make the service even more reliable and/or even speedy for users. As an advocate of minimizing the effects of The Kessler Syndrome in LEO, this brings me joy. cc: @ChrisjonesLee…
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@yrouel86
Massimo
on x
Pretty cool, should reduce latency a fair bit and also means any dead or EOL sat will reenter even quicker. Hopefully the Sun cooperate though
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@blaze_r935
Blaze
on x
@michaelnicollsx @Starlink Coordinating a massive shell lowering with regulators, USSPACECOM, and other operators while keeping the network running smoothly—that's next-level ops. A huge win for long-term space safety as LEO gets busier.
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@seattle_rt
@seattle_rt
on x
@michaelnicollsx ... This is great news and aligns well with the V3 satellites which I understand will operate even lower at 350 km. Reduced risk, faster decay time if needed, and lowered latency/improved speeds for customers. SpaceX and Starlink keep hitting it out of the park!
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@fack
@fack
on bluesky
It's wild that they're building telco infra that doesn't just degrade, but just fucking burns up after a few months in orbit. [embedded post]
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@jknodlseder@mastodon.social
@jknodlseder@mastodon.social
on mastodon
Looks like we will hear a lot about the Kessler syndrome in 2026 #SpaceSustainability — https://www.reuters.com/...
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@knud@mastodon.social
Knud Jahnke
on mastodon
Oh look, more additions to the #KesslerSyndrome — https://www.reuters.com/... (I'm sure you've seen this, @sundogplanets, even though they tried to bury this under the New Year's pile.)
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@hannorein@mastodon.social
Hanno Rein
on mastodon
It sure looks like even SpaceX is getting worried that shit will hit the fan, or more precisely, shit will hit their satellites. — https://www.reuters.com/...
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r/space
r
on reddit
Starlink plans to lower satellite orbit to enhance safety in 2026