SpaceX told the Federal Communications Commission that it guided 260 Starlink satellites to burn up in Earth’s atmosphere between Dec. 1, 2025, and May 31, 2026. The number appears in a semiannual compliance report.
The filing breaks the group down. 176 came from the first-generation constellation, and the rest were from the Gen2 fleet. A further 349 satellites were decommissioned in the same period and are expected to be disposed of in the coming months.
A five-year life
Starlink now operates more than 10,000 satellites, and SpaceX is pushing Starlink Mobile, a direct-to-phone service. The spacecraft are designed to last about five years, which lets the company swap aging units for newer ones as fuel runs low. At the end, a satellite uses what fuel remains to lower its orbit. Atmospheric drag takes over, and heat and friction burn the craft up, so no dead hardware stays in low Earth orbit.
Bringing the satellites back is not practical, SpaceX says. First-generation units weigh about 573 to 650 pounds, and second-generation versions weigh about 1,764 to 2,756 pounds. Tracking data compiled by astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell shows a total of 1,357 Starlink satellites have re-entered and burned up.
A larger network ahead
The disposals come as SpaceX seeks a much bigger Starlink. The FCC approved 7,500 additional Gen2 satellites in January, and the company has long discussed a constellation that could reach 42,000.
Elon Musk also wants orbital data centers, as a way around strained power grids on Earth. SpaceX has asked the FCC for permission to launch up to 1 million compute satellites. It has unveiled an AI1 design too, and outlined a Terafab chip project in Bastrop, Texas, meant to produce 1 terawatt of processors annually.
Sources
- Elon Musk's SpaceX Deorbits 260 Starlink Satellites in Six Months, With Hundreds More Set to Burn Up
