Starlink plans to lower the orbits of about 4,400 satellites this year as a safety precaution, according to Michael Nicolls, the company’s vice president of engineering. In a post on X, Nicolls said Starlink is “beginning a significant reconfiguration of its satellite constellation,” moving satellites currently orbiting at roughly 550 kilometers (342 miles) down to about 480 km (298 miles). The change is meant to reduce collision risk by shifting satellites into a less crowded orbital band and ensuring they can deorbit more quickly if something goes wrong.
“Lowering the satellites results in condensing Starlink orbits, and will increase space safety in several ways,” Nicolls wrote. He also cited the approaching solar minimum — the low-activity phase of the sun’s roughly 11-year cycle — as a factor in the decision. The next solar minimum is expected in the early 2030s. As solar activity drops, atmospheric density decreases, which slows how quickly objects naturally decay out of orbit. “As solar minimum approaches, atmospheric density decreases which means the ballistic decay time at any given altitude increases — lowering will mean a >80% reduction in ballistic decay time in solar minimum, or 4+ years reduced to a few months,” Nicolls explained.
The announcement follows recent concerns over space safety. A few weeks ago, Starlink disclosed that one of its satellites suffered an anomaly that produced debris and sent it tumbling. Days earlier, Nicolls also warned about a near miss involving satellites launched from China, which he said appeared to have been deployed without coordination with other operators. In his latest post, Nicolls added that lowering Starlink’s satellites “will further improve the safety of the constellation, particularly with difficult to control risks such as uncoordinated maneuvers and launches by other satellite operators.”