Space trackers have discovered that Starlink’s satellites are falling to Earth at a concerning rate. Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in the U.S., recorded an average of between one to two Starlink satellites deorbiting each day in 2025. This figure is expected to rise to five per day as the company plans to grow its space internet constellation.
Videos of the satellites falling to the ground have surfaced on social media, leading to concerns that they could pose risks to people on the ground. However, these satellites are not considered dangerous, as they have been designed to burn up entirely in the Earth’s atmosphere before reaching the ground.
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McDowell stated in an interview with space news publication EarthSky that while deorbiting Starlink satellites may not be dangerous, other objects re-entering could pose a significant threat, as they are not being controlled by their operators. “Every few months there’s a report of a piece of space hardware that’s reentered that ends up on the ground as a significant piece of debris,” he said. “So, several times a year we’re taking these potshots at people on the Earth and fortunately, so far missing. So far, we’ve been very lucky but it won’t last.”
McDowell also said that deorbiting Starlink satellites might still prove to be problematic in other ways with pollutants from the burn-ups like aluminum oxide could contribute to the warming of the atmosphere. “It’s not clear yet really, even in the age of the mega constellations, [whether] these effects are going to be big enough to be really problematic, but it’s not clear that they won’t,” he said. “That research is underway right now, and if it comes back that we’re already doing damage to the atmosphere in this way, we’re going to have to rethink some of our disposal strategies.”
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According to a 2023 investigation by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Investigation, the Earth’s stratosphere contains an unexpected quantity of particles with a variety of exotic metals. “The scientists believe the particles come from satellites and spent rocket boosters as they are vaporized by the intense heat of reentry,” the organization said.
The researchers found particles containing the rare elements niobium and hafnium, as well as copper, lithium and aluminum at concentrations far exceeding the abundance found in space dust. Since these elements are used for heat-resistant, high-performance alloys, the spaceflight industry is likely to be the source for this.