Latest Developments
SpaceX flew another Starlink mission from California on October 23, with Falcon 9 booster B1063 lifting the Group 15-15 stack and returning to the droneship Of Course I Still Love You. Space.com reported that the Falcon 9 launch cadence has slowed. The constellation stands at 13015 satellites launched, 11144 in orbit, and 11129 working. In the competitive market, Rocket Lab put three “Hawk” signals intelligence satellites into orbit.
Space Safety
No upcoming Starlink conjunctions appear in the SOCRATES top-probability list, and none are rated high risk. Seven Starlink satellites currently carry active reentry predictions. Those are controlled deorbits or natural decays of retired spacecraft, and Starlink satellites are designed to burn up completely on reentry.
No upcoming Starlink conjunctions appear in the current SOCRATES top-probability list.
Satellite
NORAD ID
Predicted Decay
Window (min)
Inclination
Lat
Lon
STARLINK-1704
47625
Oct 25, 01:04 UTC
360
53°
32°
351°
STARLINK-1327
45555
Oct 25, 01:09 UTC
720
53°
26.8°
114°
STARLINK-1525
46066
Oct 25, 11:53 UTC
540
53°
2.1°
227.8°
STARLINK-1454
45671
Oct 25, 21:44 UTC
600
53°
20.5°
150°
STARLINK-36255
67102
Oct 26, 06:01 UTC
1140
43°
42.2°
272.9°
STARLINK-2236
48582
Oct 26, 17:23 UTC
1140
53°
-18.8°
331.7°
STARLINK-2187
48562
Oct 26, 19:41 UTC
780
53.1°
48.8°
164.3°
Detailed Coverage
Rocket Lab Lofts Three Hawk SIGINT Satellites
Rocket Lab launched three “Hawk” satellites built to collect signals intelligence. This class of RF-geolocation spacecraft serves defense and intelligence customers that track emitters from orbit. It is a separate market from Starlink’s broadband business, but the payload contracts it represents are ones SpaceX’s Starshield line also competes for.
The launch itself was covered in our earlier coverage. This entry adds the military angle, since it is another small-launch mission carrying a national security payload.
Read the full story: Space.com
Starlink Group 15-15 Flies From Vandenberg as Falcon 9 Cadence Slows
Falcon 9 booster B1063 launched the Starlink Group 15-15 satellites from California. The first stage landed on the droneship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific. Space.com described this flight as coming during a stretch of slower Falcon 9 launch activity.
The basic mission was reported in our earlier coverage. What this report adds is the cadence trend. A slower Falcon 9 rate means fewer Starlink deployments per month at a time when the in-orbit count is above 11,100. B1063 is one of the older boosters in the West Coast fleet.
Read the full story: Space.com
Constellation Status
Starlink’s in-orbit count fell by 10 since the last check, from 11,154 to 11,144, with 10 more satellites added to the decayed total, which now stands at 1,871. Working satellites dropped by 11 to 11,129, so one satellite that is still in orbit has also left active service. SpaceX has launched 13,015 Starlink satellites in total.
Total Launched: 13015
Total On Orbit: 11144
Total Working: 11129
Track Starlink satellites in real-time: Track Starlink
Wondering about the totals? See how many Starlink satellites are in orbit, updated daily.