As it prepares for a possible rollout of satellite internet services in India, Elon Musk-owned Starlink has announced a major change to how its satellite network will operate in space. The company plans to gradually lower the orbit of its entire constellation starting next year, a move it says is aimed at making Earth’s increasingly crowded orbital environment safer.
Michael Nicolls, SpaceX’s vice president of Starlink engineering, said the company will begin shifting satellites that currently operate at an altitude of around 550 km to a lower orbit of about 480 km through the course of 2026. According to Nicolls, bringing satellites closer to Earth helps reduce long-term risks linked to space debris and accidental collisions, which have become growing concerns as thousands of new spacecraft are launched every year.
The announcement comes just weeks after Starlink disclosed a rare in-orbit incident involving one of its satellites. In December, the company said a satellite suffered an anomaly at an altitude of around 418 km, resulting in a small amount of debris and a complete loss of communication with the spacecraft. The satellite reportedly dropped by about four kilometres in a short span, indicating that an internal failure or explosion may have occurred. While such events are uncommon, they have renewed attention on how operators manage large satellite fleets responsibly.
Explaining the reasoning behind the orbital shift, Nicolls said lowering the satellites effectively compresses Starlink’s operating zone. He noted that space below the 500 km mark currently has fewer debris objects and fewer planned satellite constellations compared to higher orbits. This, in turn, reduces the overall probability of collisions, especially as more governments and private companies rush to deploy space-based services such as broadband, communications and Earth observation.
Over the past few years, the number of active spacecraft in Earth’s orbit has risen sharply. Starlink alone operates nearly 10,000 satellites, making SpaceX the largest satellite operator in the world. Originally known primarily for its rocket launches, the company has transformed into a dominant player in global broadband through Starlink, serving individual users, enterprises and government clients across multiple countries.
The safety-focused move also gains importance as Starlink moves closer to launching services in India. Union Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia recently said satellite communication services will be allowed in the country once companies meet security-related requirements laid down by Indian authorities. These include ensuring that data routing and international gateways comply with national security norms and that sensitive data remains within India.
In an interview with PTI, Scindia said the government is nearing the stage where spectrum can be allocated to satellite communication players such as Starlink, Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio Satellite Global Services. However, this will only happen after the Department of Telecommunications finalises spectrum pricing, a process being handled along with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.
The minister added that provisional spectrum has already been assigned to satcom companies to help them demonstrate compliance with security agencies. According to him, companies are currently in the process of meeting these requirements, after which commercial services can move closer to reality.
