SpaceX will de-orbit 100 Starlink satellites back to Earth

SpaceX said today that it will de-orbit around 100 Starlink satellites back to Earth within the next few months due to completing their age.

The rocket maker addressed this new information through its “Space Sustainability Commitment” report which reveals that these 100 Starlink satellites are early-version 1 from the fleet.

Starlink satellites operate in a low Earth orbit below 600 km altitude. These will deorbit naturally within 5 years or less through atmospheric drag.

“SpaceX proactively deorbits satellites that are identified to be at an elevated risk of becoming non-maneuverable.” said the company.

That’s how the company manages its functional satellites and eliminates the non-functional ones in orbit. As for now, SpaceX has performed de-orbit for 406 satellites from 6000 Starlink satellites launched by February 2024.

Among these, 17 are currently non-maneuverable but the company can track these and mark their collision risk with other active satellites. The rest of the satellites have already descended for de-orbit.

The new 100 marked Starlink satellites are currently maneuverable and actively working but there are some issues found in these satellites with a risk of failure in the future.

To de-orbit, the satellites will follow a safe, circular, and controlled lowering operation that could take up to six months. Before, entering Earth’s atmosphere, SpaceX is bound to follow all safety and sustainability practices.

“SpaceX will continue to share high-fidelity future position and uncertainty prediction information, multiple times a day with other operators and launch providers.” wrote SpaceX.

The reusable rocket maker firm also mentioned that these de-orbiting will not impact Starlink’s satellite services for customers. It’s revealed that SpaceX can build up to 55 Starlink satellites a week and launch more than 200 satellites per month.

(source – SpaceX)