Latest Developments
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 booster successfully returned to port after delivering NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope into orbit, with the recovery highlighted in a striking image released on September 8. The current status of the Starlink constellation shows that 12,935 satellites have been launched, with 11,139 currently in orbit and 11,124 operational.
Space Safety
There are nine Starlink conjunctions flagged on the SOCRATES high-probability list, all categorized as LOW risk. One instance is marked with a suspect flag due to unreliable upstream data, and thus it shouldn’t be regarded as a credible collision threat. Additionally, two Starlink satellites have active reentry predictions from the 18th Space Defense Squadron’s tracking system.
| Risk | Starlink Sat | Other Object | Status | Min Range (km) | Rel Speed (km/s) | Max Prob | Time of Closest Approach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HIGH | STARLINK-37328 | OBJECT L | Non-operational | 0.008 | 14.205 | 1 (suspect) | Sep 11, 19:40 UTC |
| MODERATE | STARLINK-5409 | COSMOS 1953 | Unknown | 0.023 | 13.537 | 0.1302 | Sep 13, 03:34 UTC |
| MODERATE | STARLINK-6271 | STARLINK-33564 | Operational | 0.058 | 2.619 | 0.1063 | Sep 12, 00:15 UTC |
| LOW | STARLINK-11262 | LKW-4 | Operational | 0.028 | 14.007 | 0.08279 | Sep 10, 20:47 UTC |
| LOW | STARLINK-30219 | STARLINK-30906 | Operational | 0.068 | 3.838 | 0.08113 | Sep 10, 12:57 UTC |
| LOW | STARLINK-5014 | STARLINK-32850 | Operational | 0.068 | 7.205 | 0.07531 | Sep 14, 11:24 UTC |
| LOW | STARLINK-1043 | STARLINK-11450 | Operational | 0.073 | 2.571 | 0.07203 | Sep 14, 03:19 UTC |
| LOW | STARLINK-5232 | COSMOS 397 DEB | Non-operational | 0.035 | 12.785 | 0.0651 | Sep 12, 00:31 UTC |
| LOW | STARLINK-32615 | STARLINK-36554 | Partially Operational | 0.076 | 5.029 | 0.06433 | Sep 11, 04:10 UTC |
| Satellite | NORAD ID | Predicted Decay | Window (min) | Inclination | Lat | Lon |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STARLINK-3069 | 49176 | Sep 10, 00:50 UTC | 1440 | 70° | 25° | 303.3° |
| STARLINK-2180 | 47762 | Sep 11, 08:04 UTC | 780 | 53.1° | 33.4° | 57.5° |
Detailed Coverage
Falcon 9 Booster Returns After Roman Space Telescope Launch
A recent photo of a SpaceX drone ship captured the Falcon 9 first stage back at port post-launch of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, chosen as Space.com’s photo of the day for September 8. This mission, detailed in our earlier coverage, directed NASA’s next flagship infrared observatory toward its L2 orbit. The successful booster recovery supports SpaceX’s rapid reuse trajectory, maintaining a launch schedule of over two missions per week.
Read the full story: Space.com.
Constellation Status
No updates to the Starlink constellation have occurred since the last report on September 7. The current statistics are as follows: 12,935 satellites launched, 11,124 operational, and 1,796 decayed.
- Total Launched: 12,935
- Total On Orbit: 11,139
- Total Working: 11,124
You can track Starlink satellites in real-time: Track Starlink. For the latest totals, see how many Starlink satellites are in orbit, updated daily.
