SpaceX urges better data sharing in orbit after close approaches to Starlink satellites
A senior SpaceX executive, Michael Nicolls, called on all satellite operators to share information about where their satellites are and where they are heading. He said that without it, the risk of orbital collisions grows.
Speaking at the International Astronautical Congress in Turkey on Tuesday, October 6, Michael Nicolls, SpaceX's vice president for Starlink and president of Elon Musk's AI company xAI, urged satellite operators to share data on their satellites' positions and planned maneuvers more openly. He argued this is needed so that a growing number of satellite constellations can operate safely in low-Earth orbit.
Starlink, SpaceX's satellite internet network, now has more than 11,000 satellites, roughly two-thirds of all active spacecraft in low-Earth orbit. SpaceX also plans a new constellation called Starmind, with up to a million satellites, to provide AI computing capacity in orbit. Amazon is building its own network, and two Chinese constellations are being deployed.
Close approaches
Nicolls stressed that the daily risk of a collision is very low, but said that given the scale, what can happen eventually will. A collision could create thousands of new pieces of debris. No global treaty requires satellites to broadcast their locations or maneuvers.
He presented examples in which other operators' satellites changed trajectory without informing anyone and came within tens to hundreds of meters of Starlink satellites. He said this did not suggest hostile intent but a lack of shared data.
Starlink satellites perform about 1,000 collision avoidance maneuvers per day. In recent months they have steered clear of about 650 active satellites from other operators, but only half of those belong to operators that share ephemeris data with SpaceX. An ephemeris is information about a satellite's position and movement.
China and Amazon
Nicolls acknowledged that sharing data with international operators is difficult. SpaceX shares data with the Chinese space station and some other Chinese operators, but not with many others. A chart in his presentation suggested the problem lies largely with Chinese and Russian satellites, though some in the United States, Europe and Japan also decline to share.
Rajeev Badyal, head of Amazon Leo, said the company coordinates every launch with SpaceX and other operators, and that sharing ephemeris data is a non-issue for it. Amazon has 396 satellites in orbit today.
