Space Debris & Traffic Management News

Reuters • Juby Babu

SpaceX loses contact with Starlink 35956 after in‑orbit anomaly at 418 km; small debris cloud created

On Dec. 17, 2025 SpaceX reported loss of contact with Starlink satellite 35956 after an in‑orbit anomaly at about 418 km that produced a small number of debris fragments. The craft is tumbling, expected to re‑enter and burn up, and SpaceX says it poses no threat to the ISS.

2025-12-18T09:55:24.907042-08:00

Washington Post

U.S. and Chinese satellites are 'dogfighting' up to 22,000 miles as orbital militarization escalates

2025-12-18T02:14:37.333263-08:00

Space.com

Chinese-launched spacecraft came within ~200 m of Starlink‑6079 at 560 km, SpaceX says

2025-12-12T21:14:12.257374-08:00

Space.com

Megaconstellations could permanently contaminate space‑telescope observations by late 2030s, scientists warn

2025-12-12T03:06:45.877546-08:00

Space Debris & Traffic Management News Timeline

Reuters

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SpaceX loses contact with Starlink 35956 after in‑orbit anomaly at 418 km; small debris cloud created On Dec. 17, 2025 SpaceX reported loss of contact with Starlink satellite 35956 after an in‑orbit anomaly at about 418 km that produced a small number of debris fragments. The craft is tumbling, expected to re‑enter and burn up, and SpaceX says it poses no threat to the ISS.

2025-12-18T09:55:24.907042-08:00

SpaceX loses contact with Starlink 35956 after in‑orbit anomaly at 418 km; small debris cloud created

Scientific American

CRASH Clock: LEO collision-avoidance window falls to 5.5 days; solar storms could compress it to ~2.8 days The CRASH Clock study finds the average low‑Earth‑orbit collision‑avoidance window shrank to 5.5 days in June 2025 — down from 164 days in January 2018 — and warns an extreme solar storm could reduce expected time to first collision to about 2.8 days, sharply raising operational risk.

2025-12-18T06:14:12.772671-08:00

CRASH Clock: LEO collision-avoidance window falls to 5.5 days; solar storms could compress it to ~2.8 days

Washington Post

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U.S. and Chinese satellites are 'dogfighting' up to 22,000 miles as orbital militarization escalates U.S. and Chinese spacecraft are increasingly conducting close‑proximity maneuvers — sometimes operating as far out as 22,000 miles from Earth — behavior described as 'dogfighting' as the militarization of orbit accelerates. This trend raises collision and mission‑risk concerns and signals a new phase of contested on‑orbit operations.

2025-12-18T02:14:37.333263-08:00

U.S. and Chinese satellites are 'dogfighting' up to 22,000 miles as orbital militarization escalates

SpaceWatch Global

Spaceflight’s Atmospheric Footprint: Early Science and Major Unknowns Spaceflight’s returns—reentries, stage drops and spent hardware—deposit burned and vaporised particulates and metals into the upper atmosphere. Early science maps emissions and chemical impacts but large uncertainties remain about cumulative deposition, climate effects and whether industry growth demands regulatory controls.

2025-12-18T01:30:42.924585-08:00

Spaceflight’s Atmospheric Footprint: Early Science and Major Unknowns

spaceanddefense.io

Astroscale awarded U.S. patent for fuel‑efficient capture of tumbling satellites Astroscale has been granted a U.S. patent for a fuel‑efficient method to capture and service tumbling satellites, advancing techniques to rendezvous with, stabilize and attach to non‑cooperative objects in orbit. The invention targets a longstanding technical barrier for on‑orbit servicing and space sustainability.

2025-12-17T18:24:15.521379-08:00

Astroscale awarded U.S. patent for fuel‑efficient capture of tumbling satellites

Space Intel Report

Astroscale Reports Triple Revenue and Narrowed Operating Loss, Reaffirms Confidence in Commercial Satellite Life-Extension Astroscale said revenue tripled year‑over‑year and its operating loss narrowed, reaffirming confidence in commercial satellite life‑extension and debris‑removal services. The La Plata, Maryland firm said the performance reflects improving commercial traction for on‑orbit servicing and strengthens its case to investors and customers.

2025-12-15T11:24:55.809827-08:00

Astroscale Reports Triple Revenue and Narrowed Operating Loss, Reaffirms Confidence in Commercial Satellite Life-Extension

Payload

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Starfish Space and Impulse Space complete Remora autonomous rendezvous using single‑camera guidance Starfish Space and Impulse Space have completed Remora, an in‑orbit autonomous rendezvous and proximity‑operations (RPO) demonstration using a single camera as the primary sensor. The test paired Impulse's spacecraft with Starfish's navigation software to perform automated close approaches without additional guidance hardware.

2025-12-15T06:06:19.029329-08:00

Starfish Space and Impulse Space complete Remora autonomous rendezvous using single‑camera guidance

Universe Today

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2.8 Days to Disaster: arXiv paper warns mega-constellations could trigger LEO collision cascade A new arXiv preprint by Sarah Thiele and co-authors warns that today's mega-constellation deployments have created a "house of cards" in low Earth orbit, and that a catastrophic collision cascade could unfold in as little as 2.8 days without stronger mitigation.

2025-12-15T05:03:20.182927-08:00

2.8 Days to Disaster: arXiv paper warns mega-constellations could trigger LEO collision cascade

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