Starlink Collision Avoidance: What SpaceX's FCC Report Says

In its semi-annual report to the FCC covering December 1, 2025 to May 31, 2026, SpaceX says its first-generation Starlink satellites performed 65,137 propulsive maneuvers and its second-generation satellites performed 142,015, about 36 and 46 maneuvers per satellite per year. That is 207,152 maneuvers in six months (my sum). The same filing lists 260 Starlink satellites that reentered the atmosphere in the period and four disposal failures. These are SpaceX's own figures, filed on July 1, 2026, not an independent count.

What the report is#

SpaceX files a status report on its Starlink constellation with the Federal Communications Commission every six months. It does so under voluntary commitments that the FCC recorded in its 2021 modification order and its December 2022 authorization order for the second-generation system, as the cover letter of the filing states. The report answers a fixed list of questions: conjunction events and maneuvers, satellites removed from operation, satellites that reentered, disposal failures and collision-avoidance outages.

The filing is public in the FCC's electronic filing system (SpaceX Gen 1 and Gen 2 Semi-Annual Reports, July 1, 2026). Everything below comes from that document unless I say otherwise.

The maneuver numbers#

"Gen 1" and "Gen 2" are the first- and second-generation Starlink systems, which have separate FCC authorizations. A propulsive maneuver is a thruster burn to change a satellite's path, so one avoidance event can involve more than one burn; the filing counts maneuvers, not distinct close approaches.

Why SpaceX maneuvers so often#

The filing says SpaceX satellites maneuver when the estimated probability of collision is greater than 3 in 10 million (3e-7), "as opposed to the industry standard of 1e-4", or 1 in 10,000. SpaceX describes this as roughly two orders of magnitude more sensitive than the standard, and adds miss-distance criteria on top. A lower threshold means more maneuvers for the same number of close approaches. That is a choice SpaceX describes as conservative, and it is hard to compare with other operators because, as the filing itself notes, few other operators report maneuver counts.

The filing also lists the objects Starlink satellites maneuvered around most often. The top three by maneuver count are TIANTIE KEJI GUOX (ZJ Lab, 1,809 maneuvers), HONGHU 2 (Hongqing Technology, 1,740) and NUSAT-41 (Satellogic, 1,457). SpaceX says it coordinated with other operators "hundreds of times" in the period, and that when a satellite transits its shells it often agrees a "time-domain deconfliction" with that operator rather than maneuvering.

Deorbits, reentries and disposal failures#

Three points about those rows:

• "Removed from operation" is not the same as "reentered". The first table lists satellites SpaceX took out of service and began to deorbit; some had already reentered by the end of the period and many were still descending. The second table lists reentries, including satellites removed earlier. I counted rows in each table by hand, so treat the removed-from-operation figure as my count.
• SpaceX says it deorbits early on purpose. The report says SpaceX is "willing to deorbit satellites based on long-term reliability forecasts, rather than waiting for failure of critical subsystems", and that this may mean deorbiting "a considerable number of satellites that would never experience a failure". So a reentry here is not necessarily a satellite failure.
• Disposal failures are rare in this filing. Two first-generation satellites (STARLINK-34343 on March 29, 2026 and STARLINK-36253 on June 6, 2026) are listed as suspected hardware failures, with SpaceX not in contact and without attitude control. Two second-generation satellites are listed too: STARLINK-32445, which failed on June 14, 2026 and has an estimated decay time of 0.81 years from June 26, and STARLINK-11678, which failed on June 3 and reentered on June 25. For each, SpaceX says sensitive components have been identified and removed from future designs.

How to read it, and what it can't tell you#

• It is self-reported. SpaceX writes the report; the document is a company filing, not an FCC audit. Treat it as a primary source for what SpaceX says, not as independent verification.
• Maneuver counts depend on the threshold. A rising count can mean more satellites, more close approaches or a changed threshold. The filing cannot separate those three by itself.
• Fleet size changes the rate. SpaceX gives per-satellite averages, which is the fairer way to compare periods. Counts of satellites in orbit also differ by tracker; our guide to how many Starlink satellites are in orbit explains why.
• Reentry is part of the design. The filing says that because Starlink satellites operate at low altitudes, they can be deorbited quickly. Our overview of what investors should track in satellite constellations covers replacement cycles.

This is research, not financial advice or a view on any stock.

Seeing close approaches yourself#

Martian Alpha's free collision monitor shows predicted close approaches between satellites and debris, scored for risk and grouped by operator, from public conjunction screening. That is a different data source from SpaceX's maneuver log: it shows predicted approaches, not the maneuvers an operator chose to make. The constellation tracker lists satellites per constellation, with the source and as-of date on each number.

FAQ#

How many maneuvers did Starlink satellites perform in the latest FCC report?#

SpaceX reports 65,137 propulsive maneuvers by first-generation satellites and 142,015 by second-generation satellites for December 1, 2025 to May 31, 2026, which is 207,152 in total (my sum), in a filing dated July 1, 2026.

How many Starlink satellites reentered in that period?#

The filing's reentry tables list 176 first-generation and 84 second-generation satellites, 260 in total. Many of these were removed from service earlier in the period or before it.

Why does Starlink maneuver more than other satellites?#

SpaceX says it maneuvers at a collision probability above 3e-7, against an industry standard of 1e-4 that it cites, plus miss-distance criteria. A lower threshold produces more maneuvers for the same close approaches. Few other operators publish maneuver counts, so the comparison is hard to check.

Does a Starlink reentry mean the satellite failed?#

Not necessarily. SpaceX says it deorbits satellites on long-term reliability forecasts rather than waiting for failures, so most reentries are planned. The filing lists only four disposal failures in the period.

Is this independent data?#

No. It is SpaceX's own report to the FCC, published in the FCC filing system. It is a primary source for SpaceX's claims, not an audited or third-party count.

Sources#

• SpaceX Gen 1 and Gen 2 Semi-Annual Reports, period December 1, 2025 to May 31, 2026, filed July 1, 2026 (FCC electronic filing), read October 12, 2026. Maneuver counts, thresholds, secondaries, reentry and disposal tables.
• Row counts of the removed-from-operation and reentered tables are my own, made October 12, 2026 from the extracted text of that filing.