[[link removed]]

SUNDAY SCIENCE: ELON MUSK’S STARLINK SATELLITES ARE FALLING TO
EARTH AT AN ALARMING RATE  
[[link removed]]


 

Anthony Cuthbertson
October 9, 2025
The Independent
[[link removed]]


*
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
*
[[link removed]]

_ An average of one to two Starlink satellites are deorbiting each
day in 2025 _

Launch of a Starlink in 2023, Space X

 

Up to four satellites from Elon Musk’s massive Starlink
constellation are falling to Earth every day, according to space
trackers.

Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard–Smithsonian Center
for Astrophysics in the US, recorded
[[link removed]] an average
of between one to two Starlink satellites deorbiting each day in 2025.

That figure is expected to rise to around five per day as SpaceX
continues to grow its space internet constellation.

Videos of Starlink satellites falling to Earth have appeared across
social media in recent weeks, causing concern that they could pose a
risk to people on the ground.

Starlink debris is falling toward earth in California right now.

pic.twitter.com/G0EAoReOGr [[link removed]]

— Spencer Hakimian (@SpencerHakimian) September 26, 2025
[[link removed]]

There are currently around 20,000 objects being tracked in low-Earth
orbit, including 12,000 working satellites – 8,500 of which are
Starlink satellites.

With a lifespan of around five years, Starlink satellites are
purposefully designed to burn up entirely in the Earth’s atmosphere
before reaching the ground. So while the events may appear alarming as
they streak across the sky, they are not dangerous.

Dr McDowell warned that other objects re-entering could pose a
significant threat, as they are not being controlled by their
operators.

“Every few months there’s a report of a piece of space hardware
that’s reentered that ends up on the ground as a significant piece
of debris,“ he said in a recent conversation
[[link removed]] with
space news publication EarthSky.

“So several times a year we’re taking these potshots at people on
the Earth and fortunately so far missing. So far we’ve been very
lucky, but it won’t last.”

Deorbiting Starlink satellites may not pose a risk to people, but Dr
McDowell said they may still prove problematic.

Scientists are still trying to understand what impact this rate of
deorbits might have on the Earth’s atmosphere.

Pollutants from the burn-ups, such as aluminium-oxide particles, could
contribute to warming of the atmosphere.

“It’s not clear yet really, even in the age of the mega
constellations, these effects are going to be big enough to be really
problematic, but it’s not clear that they won’t,” Dr McDowell
said.

“That research is underway right now, and if it comes back that
we’re already doing damage to the atmosphere in this way, we’re
going to have to rethink some of our disposal strategies.”

_ANTHONY CUTHBERTSON is the Deputy Technology Editor and a
correspondent at The Independent based in Paris. He mainly covers
technology – everything from clean energy breakthroughs, to
cryptocurrency and cyber crime – but also writes news and features
from France. He has previously been named Digital Journalist of the
Year by the Association of Online Publishers (AOP) and won Digital
Writer of the Year at the Online Media Awards. Anthony has a Masters
in journalism and worked as a senior staff writer at Newsweek before
joining The Independent._

_THE INDEPENDENT. Support truly independent journalism.
[[link removed]]_

_No one tells The Independent what to report — not political
parties, nor advertisers, nor shareholders. We are truly independent.
Your support will help us keep it that way_

__

* Science
[[link removed]]
* satellites
[[link removed]]
* Elon Musk
[[link removed]]
* space junk
[[link removed]]
* atmospheric pollution
[[link removed]]

*
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
*
[[link removed]]

 

 

 

INTERPRET THE WORLD AND CHANGE IT

 

 

Submit via web
[[link removed]]

Submit via email
Frequently asked questions
[[link removed]]
Manage subscription
[[link removed]]
Visit xxxxxx.org
[[link removed]]

Twitter [[link removed]]

Facebook [[link removed]]

 




[link removed]

To unsubscribe, click the following link:
[link removed]