The number of Starlink satellites falling back to Earth and burning up in the atmosphere has declined in recent months, down from around 500 to 200.
The decrease, mentioned in SpaceX’s latest semi-annual report to the FCC, suggests the company has successfully retired a large number of older Starlink satellites.
A Starlink satellite usually lasts for five years before it’s eventually de-orbited; during the atmosphere re-entry, the satellite is designed to completely burn up. Others can be retired early if they malfunction or a hardware flaw is found.
However, the Starlink constellation has become so large—spanning over 10,000 satellites—that the rate of satellite burn-ups faced a sharp increase a year ago. The company de-orbited as many as four to five Starlink satellites per day, according to astronomer and satellite tracker Jonathan McDowell.
(Credit: Jonathan McDowell)
SpaceX later revealed it had de-orbited 472 satellites between December 2024 and May 2025. But it only de-orbited 218 from June to November, its report says.
Most of the de-orbited satellites, at 167, belonged to the first-generation Starlink constellation, which began serving the first US customers over five years ago. The remaining de-orbited satellites belonged to the second-generation constellation.
McDowell confirmed in an email that SpaceX has “largely completed the mass retirement of the older sats. Having said that, the reentry rate is still large compared to say 2023.”
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In his own annual “space activities” report, McDowell also noted that SpaceX has launched 10,801 Starlink satellites. So far, 1,391 satellites—or about 13% of the constellation—have re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere, according to his count.
Despite the recent decrease, re-entries could spike again as the constellation ages and more satellites face retirement. The Starlink constellation currently has 9,399 operational satellites. Pending FCC approval, SpaceX plans to drastically expand the system to tens of thousands of additional satellites to power internet and cellular access in rural and remote areas.
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The issue has raised concerns about a potential environmental impact since disintegrating satellites risk releasing chemicals that are harmful to the Earth’s ozone layer. It might set the stage for a regulatory battle over whether the US should subject satellite constellations to environmental reviews.
SpaceX previously told the FCC that satellite operations and de-orbits “have no meaningful effect on the human environment within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States.” It also said the chance of its newer Starlink satellite potentially surviving re-entry and causing harm to those on the ground is “less than 1 in 100 million.”
This comes as SpaceX announced a “significant reconfiguration of its satellite constellation focused on increasing space safety.” About 4,400 satellites orbiting between 480km and 550km will be lowered, which will help reduce the “ballistic decay time” by more than 80%, “or 4+ years reduced to a few months,” says Michael Nicolls, VP of Starlink Engineering.
“Starlink satellites have extremely high reliability, with only 2 dead satellites in its fleet of over 9000 operational satellites,” Nicolls tweeted. “Nevertheless, if a satellite does fail on orbit, we want it to deorbit as quickly as possible. These actions will further improve the safety of the constellation, particularly with difficult to control risks such as uncoordinated maneuvers and launches by other satellite operators.”
About Our Expert
Michael Kan
Senior Reporter
Experience
I’ve been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I’m currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country’s technology sector.
Since 2020, I’ve covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I’ve combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink’s cellular service.
I also cover cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. Earlier this year, the FTC forced Avast to pay consumers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and selling their personal information to third-party clients, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.
I also cover the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in front of a Best Buy to get an RTX 3000. I’m now following how President Trump’s tariffs will affect the industry. I’m always eager to learn more, so please jump in the comments with feedback and send me tips.
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