SpaceX to lower about 4,400 Starlink satellites to improve space safety

SpaceX is undertaking a major reconfiguration of its Starlink constellation, moving roughly 4,400 satellites from about 341 miles (550 km) to 298 miles (480 km) over the course of 2026, Michael Nicolls, SpaceX’s vice president of Starlink engineering, wrote on X. Nicolls said the shift is "focused on increasing space safety." The maneuvers will be gradual and performed with the satellites’ plasma engines.

Although the move will pack a large fraction of orbital traffic closer together, SpaceX says the satellites follow choreographed paths distributed in dozens of orbital lanes, and the lower altitude has fewer debris objects — factors that should reduce the aggregate likelihood of collisions even as objects travel at nearly 5 miles per second.

The roughly 4,400 satellites making the descent represent nearly half of SpaceX’s Starlink fleet. At the end of 2025 the company had nearly 9,400 working satellites in orbit, including more than 8,000 Starlinks in operational service and hundreds more undergoing tests and activation.

Another reason for the reconfiguration is the Sun’s recent decline after the 2024 peak of its 11-year cycle. Lower solar activity reduces upper-atmosphere density and, at current altitudes, would lengthen the time it takes atmospheric drag to deorbit failed satellites.

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World, Tech, Spacex, Starlink, Satellites, Space-debris, Space-safety