Key facts
- SpaceX is calling out rival satellite launchers over near-miss collisions with its Starlink network.
- SpaceX stated its Starlink network has had potential near-miss collisions with about 650 satellites this year.
- Half of the satellites involved in near-misses did not share their position data.
- One Starlink satellite narrowly missed another object by 57 meters in October 2025 after the object changed trajectory.
- SpaceX has publicly shared trajectory data for its Starlink satellites.
- The company plans to launch up to 100,000 Starlink satellites and one million orbital data centers.
SpaceX has issued a warning to other satellite operators regarding the increasing risk of collisions in Earth's orbit, particularly concerning its Starlink constellation. In a blog post, the company highlighted that operators who fail to share their satellites' trajectories are engaging in a dangerous game of chance.
SpaceX stated that its Starlink network, comprising approximately 11,000 satellites, has encountered around 650 potential near-miss collisions this year. A significant concern is that half of these incidents involved satellites whose operators did not share their positional data, making mitigation impossible. The company cited two specific dangerous encounters: one in August where a Starlink satellite had to maneuver to avoid another by 134 meters, and another in October 2025 where a Starlink satellite narrowly missed an object by 57 meters after its trajectory unexpectedly changed.
SpaceX makes its Starlink satellite trajectory data publicly available, but it noted that gaps in this information from other operators are escalating the risk of a catastrophic collision. Astronomers have long warned about the proliferation of orbital objects and the potential for a cascade of collisions, which could render parts of Earth's orbit unusable. Over the past six months, SpaceX observed approximately 164,000 potential near-miss collisions. The company has been proactively contacting other operators to inform them of collision screening flaws, some of which were previously unknown to them.
This is not the first time SpaceX has raised concerns about space congestion. In January, the company announced plans to reposition about 4,400 Starlink satellites to mitigate collision risks, following a near-miss incident with nine Chinese satellites. Data from SpaceX indicates that a majority of satellites involved in close encounters this year that did not share trajectory data originated from China. Previously, in 2021, China had lodged a complaint with the United Nations, stating that two Starlink satellites had nearly collided with the Tiangong space station.
SpaceX is planning a substantial expansion of Starlink, aiming to launch up to 100,000 additional satellites and as many as one million orbital data centers in the coming years.