UK Space Agency says uncontrolled re-entry and collision alerts at their highest level

The UK Space Agency says January 2025 was a “highly active month which saw uncontrolled re-entry and collision alerts at their highest level since our records began”. The agency added that all National Space Operations Centre warning and protection services functioned as expected throughout the period. The centre is responsible for combining and coordinating UK civil and military space domain awareness capabilities.

Of the 115 objects monitored for re-entry in January, 66 were satellites, 11 rocket bodies, 4 were pieces of debris and 2 were classified as unknown objects, which the agency says were “likely to be a rocket body and a satellite”.

Collision risks to UK-licenced satellites increased by 26 percent in January, and is above the yearly average of 2,324.

There was an increase to the in-orbit population during January, with 218 newly catalogued objects added to the US Satellite Catalogue.

158 newly catalogued objects were attributed to the Starlink constellation with a further 10 catalogued objects (Centispace) coming from a Chinese launch on 13 January. There were no new on-orbit fragmentations during January. The UK Space Agency said that the breakup of the SpaceX Starship on 16 January did not create fragments hazardous to the on-orbit population.