Starlink satellite explodes, causing small debris field in space

A debris field comprised of a Starlink satellite’s remains is floating through space, after a minor explosion broke off pieces of the tech and sent them tumbling around Earth’s orbit.

Space X reported the anomaly earlier this week, which the company said resulted in trackable debris that included the satellite’s propulsion tank and the largely intact satellite body, which is still in orbit. SpaceX says the satellite, which the company says isn’t close enough to the International Space Station (ISS) to pose a risk to astronauts, will reenter the atmosphere and reach its “demise” in the next week.

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“As the world’s largest satellite constellation operator, we are deeply committed to space safety. We take these events seriously. Our engineers are rapidly working to root cause and mitigate the source of the anomaly and are already in the process of deploying software to our vehicles that increases protections against this type of event,” wrote SpaceX.

Earth’s orbit is filled with such debris, prompting concern among experts who warn that accumulating space junk will impede our space efforts, lead to greater and more dangerous collisions, and, more importantly, pose increased risk to humans on the ground. Last week, a SpaceX satellite and a satellite from Chinese company CAS Space nearly crashed into each other.

The anomaly comes one week after the aerospace and telecommunications companies launched 27 new Starlink satellites into the Earth’s orbit, marking the 580th flight of the company’s Falcon 9 rocket since its first successful deployment in 2015 — it was the 162nd flight in 2025 alone, Space reported. Out of more than 10,000 Starlink satellites sent into space, around 9,300 are still active.

The Elon Musk-owned company is continuing a major push to become the leading supplier of rural broadband internet and emergency satellite communications services, including ongoing deals with the U.S. government. SpaceX has struck out against federal funding allocations for fiber internet access projects and courted favor with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in an effort to gain priority for satellite internet over other broadband efforts.