SpaceX Starlink satellite goes out of control after anomaly

On December 17, one of SpaceX’s Starlink satellites encountered an anomaly and lost control.

The anomaly with Starlink-35956 caused loss of contact, making the satellite uncontrollable within the global constellation at an altitude of 418 kilometres, Caliber.Az reports, citing Starlink.

The incident caused a fuel tank gas release and a rapid reduction of the satellite’s semi-major axis by approximately four kilometres.

“The satellite is largely intact, tumbling, and will reenter the Earth’s atmosphere and fully demise within weeks,” SpaceX said.

Starlink engineers analysed the satellite’s descent trajectory and confirmed it poses no risk to the crew of the International Space Station.

SpaceX added that it is coordinating with the US Space Force and NASA. “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,” the company stated.

SpaceX is an American private aerospace company founded in 2002 by entrepreneur Elon Musk with the goal of reducing space transportation costs and revolutionising access to orbit.

It designs, manufactures and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft, including the reusable Falcon series and the Crew Dragon capsule that carries astronauts to the International Space Station under NASA contracts.

SpaceX has driven down launch costs with reusability and has become a dominant launch provider in the commercial space market.

Starlink is a satellite internet constellation developed by SpaceX to deliver high‑speed, low‑latency broadband service from thousands of low Earth orbit satellites.

It aims to provide global internet coverage, especially in remote and underserved regions that lack reliable terrestrial infrastructure.

Starlink’s constellation has grown rapidly since 2019 and continues to expand with frequent launches to enhance connectivity worldwide.

By Jeyhun Aghazada