Starlink is lowering thousands of satellites’ orbits to reduce risk of collisions

Starlink will lower the orbits of about 4,400 satellites this year as a safety precaution, according to Vice President of Engineering Michael Nicolls. In an article on The move aims to reduce the risk of collision, by placing the satellites in a less congested region and allowing them to deorbit more quickly in the event of an incident.

“Lowering the satellites results in a condensation of Starlink’s orbits and will increase space security in several ways,” Nicolls wrote, also pointing to the upcoming solar minimum — a period in the Sun’s 11-year cycle when activity is lower — as one of the reasons for the decision. The next solar minimum is expected to occur in the early 2030s. “As the solar minimum approaches, atmospheric density decreases, meaning ballistic decay time increases at a given altitude – a decrease will mean a more than 80% reduction in ballistic decay time at solar minimum, or 4+ years reduced to a few months,” Nicolls wrote.

The announcement comes weeks after Starlink said one of its satellites suffered an anomaly that created debris and caused it to fall. A few days earlier, Nicolls had published an article reporting close contact with a batch of satellites that he said had been launched from China, apparently without any attempt to coordinate with existing satellite operators in space. In its latest announcement, Nicolls added that lowering Starlink’s satellites “will further improve the security of the constellation, particularly with difficult-to-control risks such as uncoordinated maneuvers and launches by other satellite operators.”