Image: SpaceX
Starlink’s ever-growing satellite constellation is getting very good at dodging trouble — a lot of it.
According to a recent report filed by SpaceX with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, Starlink satellites performed roughly 300,000 collision-avoidance maneuvers in 2025 alone. The figures, first reported by New Scientist, offer a rare look at just how crowded low-Earth orbit has become — and how aggressively SpaceX is managing risk as its constellation scales.
Starlink launched its first satellites in 2019. Today, the network has grown to roughly 9,400 active satellites, accounting for about 65% of all operational spacecraft currently in orbit. That scale comes with responsibility: the FCC requires SpaceX to submit biannual updates outlining how it prevents collisions that could generate dangerous debris and potentially trigger cascading failures in orbit.
On average, the 300,000 maneuvers worked out to nearly 40 avoidance actions per satellite last year. That number is rising quickly, with estimates suggesting Starlink could be performing close to one million maneuvers annually by 2027 if growth continues at its current pace. As one expert bluntly put it, if something goes wrong at this scale, the consequences could be severe.
What’s particularly notable is how conservative SpaceX’s approach is compared to the rest of the industry. While the typical standard is to maneuver when the risk of collision reaches one in 10,000, SpaceX reportedly initiates avoidance at a far lower threshold of roughly three in 10 million. That means Starlink satellites are maneuvering around 300 times more often than the industry norm.
The push comes as Starlink continues to expand rapidly. The company is expected to cross 10,000 satellites in orbit in the coming months and has already received FCC approval to launch up to 15,000 satellites to support cellular connectivity. SpaceX has also outlined plans for a second-generation cellular Starlink system beginning in 2027, which will further increase orbital traffic.
To reduce long-term risk, SpaceX recently announced plans to lower thousands of Starlink satellites to a lower operational altitude this year, shortening deorbit timelines if a satellite fails. That move follows a notable anomaly in December, when a malfunctioning Starlink satellite decayed from orbit and safely burned up during reentry.
As Starlink scales, collision avoidance is becoming less of an edge case and more of a daily operational reality. The takeaway is clear: keeping Earth’s orbit usable will require constant motion — and an increasingly careful eye on the sky.
