To prevent Starlink satellite collisions, SpaceX has announced Stargaze, or what’s basically a space traffic control system that’ll supply free data about all the objects floating in Earth’s orbit.
Stargaze takes real-time data from Starlink satellites, which currently number over 9,600 in orbit. To navigate, the satellites have been outfitted with “star trackers,” or sensors that continuously survey the surrounding stars to help determine a satellite’s location, altitude, and orientation.
(Credit: Starlink.com)
Those star trackers—which number nearly 30,000—can also detect other orbiting objects, giving SpaceX a way to plot out and predict the “position and velocity for all detected objects in near real-time,” it wrote in the announcement.
To improve space safety, the company is preparing to open the data to the satellite industry after beta testing the Stargaze system. “SpaceX is now providing precise positional awareness of objects in Earth orbit to all satellite operators for free,” CEO Elon Musk tweeted. “This will greatly reduce the probability of collisions that create orbital debris (space junk) hazards.”
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The company announced Stargaze over a month after a satellite deployed from a Chinese rocket was at risk of colliding with a Starlink satellite. A SpaceX executive blamed the near-accident on a “lack of coordination between satellite operators” and demanded change. It turns out the Chinese-deployed satellite made a relatively abrupt maneuver, putting it within 60 meters (196 feet) of the Starlink satellite, giving the company only five hours to respond, SpaceX said.
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“With so little time to react, this would not have been possible by relying on legacy radar systems or high-latency conjunction screening processes,” SpaceX said. “If observations of the third-party satellite were less frequent, conjunction screening took longer, or the reaction required human approval, such an event might not have been successfully mitigated.”
The company adds that current “conventional methods typically observe objects only a limited number of times per day, causing large uncertainties in orbital predictions, further compounded by volatile space weather.” In contrast, Stargaze promises to provide data on potential collisions “within minutes, compared to the current industry standard of several hours.”
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(Credit: Starlink.com)
So far, Stargaze has been available only as a closed beta to “over a dozen participating satellite operators.” But this spring, the company is opening it up to all satellite operators that submit data to the platform. We’re also curious to see if the Stargaze data could be used for other purposes, such as asteroid detection. In the meantime, the company has been publishing Starlink trajectory data and creating an API for satellite operators to use.
SpaceX is currently working to launch tens of thousands of additional Starlink satellites into Earth’s orbit. On top of this, Musk has been talking up space-based data centers. These plans could drastically increase Earth’s satellite count, since other companies, including those in China, have been developing their own megaconstellations, raising concerns about satellite crowding in low-Earth orbit.
In SpaceX’s case, Starlink satellites have thrusters, enabling them to maneuver to avoid potential collisions. From June to November 2025, the satellites performed 148,696 propulsive maneuvers to stay in safe orbits, the company recently told the FCC. That’s up from a mere 6,873 maneuvers back in 2022, when the constellation numbered around 2,300 satellites.
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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