In brief: SpaceX regularly retires Starlink satellites as it upgrades the network, and new FCC filings show how often it happens. A report submitted to the commission earlier this month states that the company deorbited 260 satellites between December 2025 and May 2026. Most of those – 176 – were first-generation units, with the rest from the newer generation. Another 349 satellites were decommissioned in that six-month stretch and are slated for disposal in the near future.
The process is deliberate. Starlink satellites are designed to have a lifespan of about five years and are then replaced with newer models. When a satellite reaches the end of its life and runs low on fuel, it uses what remains to lower its orbit and re-enter the atmosphere. The spacecraft is designed to burn up completely during re-entry.
That turnover is now part of day-to-day operations. Starlink now has more than 10,000 satellites, and keeping the network running requires constantly removing older ones from orbit. In the six months from December 2024 to May 2025, the company removed 472 satellites.
Bringing those satellites back to Earth isn't realistic. First-generation units weigh between 573 and 650 pounds, while second-generation units weigh 1,764 to 2,756 pounds. Recovering them would be both technically difficult and expensive, so SpaceX relies on controlled re-entry instead.
The steady replacement of satellites shows SpaceX is constantly upgrading the network's hardware. SpaceX is working toward higher-capacity satellites and new services, including Starlink Mobile, which is designed to connect directly with phones. The company is also planning an orbital compute satellite, A1, with a 120 kW computing payload.
To support that expansion, SpaceX is building an 11-million-square-foot manufacturing facility to produce satellites at scale. It says the factory is intended to support roughly 1 gigawatt of orbital computing capacity per year by late 2027.
The constellation itself is expected to grow significantly. SpaceX plans to launch up to 42,000 satellites into low-Earth orbit and received FCC approval in January for 7,500 additional second-generation satellites.
However, the pace of satellite disposal is starting to draw attention. SpaceX says its satellites fully disintegrate during re-entry, leaving no debris behind, but researchers have raised concerns about how repeated burn-ups could affect the atmosphere. Calls for more study – and potential regulation – are growing.
So far, satellites have largely been exempt from environmental review. The FCC has historically avoided imposing those requirements, partly out of concern that it could slow development in the space industry.
The agency is now considering a proposal to formally exclude space-based operations from review under the National Environmental Policy Act, arguing that they are "extraterritorial activities" with effects located entirely outside the jurisdiction of the United States. That proposal has not yet been approved.
