Starlink Satellites Made 207,152 Avoidance Maneuvers in 6 Months as Constellation Tops 10,000
Updated
Updated · Space.com · Jul 15
Starlink Satellites Made 207,152 Avoidance Maneuvers in 6 Months as Constellation Tops 10,000
3 articles · Updated · Space.com · Jul 15
Summary
207,152 collision-avoidance maneuvers were logged by Starlink between December 2025 and May 2026, nearly 60,000 more than the prior six months, according to SpaceX’s latest FCC filing.
355,000 maneuvers over the past year means each satellite is now dodging debris or other spacecraft more than 40 times annually, as Starlink expanded from about 6,000 satellites in 2024 to more than 10,000 by June 2026.
16,000 operational spacecraft are now in orbit, up from roughly 10,000 in 2024, and experts say the rising satellite count multiplies potential close approaches rather than adding risk one-for-one.
1-in-1,000,000 residual collision risk per maneuver could become material at scale: one expert said Starlink may reach 1 million lifetime maneuvers by June 2027, while SpaceX is seeking approval to grow the network to 100,000 satellites.
Regulators are being urged to require operators to disclose projected annual avoidance maneuvers, fuel needs and orbital overlap before approving new constellations, especially as Amazon and China’s Thousand Sails add traffic to similar low-Earth orbits.