Starlink narrowly avoided a collision on December 12 when one of its satellites came within about 200 meters of a newly launched spacecraft from CAS Space at roughly 560 km altitude. SpaceX says the other satellite was not coordinated with existing operators and had reached orbit only 48 hours earlier. Experts, including Jonathan McDowell, call for an international space surveillance and traffic-management system to reduce growing collision and debris risks as low Earth orbit becomes increasingly crowded.
Starlink Nearly Collided With An Unannounced Chinese-Launched Satellite — A Growing Space-Traffic Crisis
Artist's rendering of two satellites in a near collision - aapsky/Shutterstock
On December 12 at 1:42 AM EST, a SpaceX Starlink satellite passed within roughly 200 meters of a newly launched spacecraft that SpaceX says it did not know existed. The other satellite had reached orbit only about 48 hours earlier after a launch from China by CAS Space. SpaceX's vice president of engineering, Michael Nicholls, said the company believes "no coordination or deconfliction with existing satellites operating in space was performed," resulting in a close approach between one of the deployed satellites and STARLINK-6079 (56120) at an altitude of about 560 km.
Who Was Operating the Unannounced Satellite? The identity of the uncoordinated orbiter remains unclear. The CAS mission carried multiple payloads for different customers — reports list spacecraft for China, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Nepal — and it is not yet public which payload is linked to the near-miss. What is clear, Nicholls warned, is that whoever launched the craft did not notify the broader space community of its presence or planned trajectory.
Why This Matters Space is getting crowded. Commercial constellations and national programs have launched thousands of satellites: SpaceX alone has deployed roughly 10,000 Starlink satellites since 2019, Amazon is starting its own large constellation, and militaries and commercial operators worldwide plan many more. Industry estimates suggest the number of satellites in low Earth orbit could approach hundreds of thousands if current proposals proceed.
Artist's rendering of space debris littering Earth orbit - Dragon Claws/Getty Images
Collisions in orbit create debris that can damage or disable other spacecraft. This debris can trigger cascading collisions — a scenario known as Kessler Syndrome — that could make some orbital regions hazardous or unusable for decades. Some fragments eventually re-enter the atmosphere and, while most burn up, larger pieces could pose risks on the ground.
Recent Precedent In November, a Chinese spacecraft docked at the Tiangong space station was struck by orbital debris, producing damage that briefly complicated operations for taikonauts. Incidents like that and the December near-miss underline growing concerns about safety in increasingly congested orbits.
Calls For International Coordination Astronomer Jonathan McDowell and other experts have urged creation of an international space surveillance and traffic-management system that includes participation from major spacefaring nations, including both the U.S. and China. Without a shared framework for sharing orbital data and coordinating maneuvers, there is no reliable way to force operators to fly safely through crowded orbital lanes.
Starlink avoiding a collision this time was fortunate. Experts warn that without effective international coordination and space-traffic management, similar incidents will likely become more frequent and potentially more damaging.
