SpaceX has warned that a series of close approaches involving its Starlink satellites – some narrowing to just a few dozen metres – expose a growing weakness in orbital traffic management.

These conjunctions are way too close for comfort.

In a statement released this week, the company said its on‑orbit monitoring identified multiple instances where Starlink units drifted within tens to hundreds of metres of other satellites, a proximity it described as "way too close to comfort".

Close approaches raise alarm

SpaceX’s analysis, based on data from the US Space Force’s Joint Space Operations Centre, revealed that the near‑misses occurred across a range of altitudes used by both the first‑generation Starlink shells and newer, higher‑orbit batches. The encounters involved not only other Starlink satellites but also payloads from rival constellations such as OneWeb and Amazon’s Kuiper.

While none of the incidents resulted in an actual collision, the margins were narrow enough to trigger automated avoidance manoeuvres, consuming fuel that could otherwise extend a satellite’s operational life.

Calls for coordinated traffic management

SpaceX is pressing the US Space Force, which oversees the national space traffic coordination centre, to accelerate the rollout of real‑time conjunction data sharing and to standardise manoeuvre protocols across operators. The firm argues that the current system, which relies on periodic data uploads and manual deconfliction, cannot keep pace with the rapid deployment of thousands of new satellites.

Industry analysts note that the issue is not merely technical but also regulatory. The Federal Communications Commission’s current licensing framework obliges operators to file orbital parameters, yet it lacks enforceable limits on proximity. "Without a common set of rules, operators are left to negotiate ad‑hoc, which is risky when you have dozens of constellations sharing the same orbital bands," said an unnamed senior analyst at a satellite‑industry consultancy.

Wider implications for the satellite sector

The surge in megaconstellations – SpaceX alone has launched over 5,000 Starlink satellites since 2019 – has turned low‑Earth orbit into a crowded highway. Experts warn that repeated close calls could accelerate the creation of debris, raising the spectre of a cascade effect known as the Kessler syndrome.

Insurance firms have already begun to adjust premiums for satellite operators, factoring in the heightened risk of collision‑avoidance burns. For consumers, the stakes are indirect but tangible: a debris‑induced loss of service could disrupt broadband access in remote regions that rely on Starlink.

SpaceX’s appeal arrives as the US government drafts new guidelines for space traffic management, expected to be published later this year. The company says it will continue to share its own conjunction data with the broader community, hoping that a more collaborative approach will keep the orbital environment sustainable for the next decade of commercial use.