Between December 2025 and May 2026, SpaceX deliberately sent 260 Starlink satellites into the atmosphere to burn up. The company confirmed the number in a semi-annual report to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
Of the 260, 176 came from the first-generation constellation. The rest were second-generation units. Another 349 satellites were decommissioned in the same six months and are due to be disposed of in the coming months.
How a Starlink dies
Each satellite is built to last about 5 years, and the short life is partly by design, since it lets SpaceX swap in newer versions. When the fuel runs low, the satellite uses what remains for a controlled de-orbit. It drops its altitude and falls into the atmosphere, where friction burns up the whole spacecraft.
Bringing them back is not on the table. First-generation units weigh roughly 573 to 650 pounds (260 to 295 kg), and second-generation units weigh 1,764 to 2,756 pounds (800 to 1,250 kg). SpaceX says retrieving them is technically impractical and financially unviable.
The constellation has grown so large that Starlink reportedly retires multiple satellites a day. It stood at more than 10,000 satellites when the report was filed, and the company is preparing Starlink Mobile, which would deliver satellite internet straight to phones.
Regulators and the atmosphere
Because everything burns, no debris is left to fall on anyone. Researchers still worry about what the vaporized metal does to the upper atmosphere, and they have called for more study and for rules.
The FCC has long left satellites out of environmental reviews, reportedly out of concern that regulation might slow the space race. Any such rule would probably fall under the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA). The agency is now formally proposing that space-based operations be excluded from NEPA because they are “extraterritorial activities” with effects that fall entirely outside the jurisdiction of the United States. The proposal has not been approved.
More satellites on the way
SpaceX’s plan calls for up to 42,000 Starlink satellites in low-Earth orbit, in several phases. In January it won FCC approval for 7,500 additional Gen2 satellites.
The company has also shown off its A1 orbital data center satellite, which carries a 120 kW compute payload. To build them, SpaceX is putting up an 11-million-square-foot Gigasat manufacturing facility.
