SpaceX will gradually lower 4,400 Starlink satellites this year to improve space safety.
SpaceX announced it will lower approximately 4,400 Starlink satellites from 550 km to 480 km above Earth throughout 2026 to reduce the risk of collisions in low Earth orbit. The move will also shorten the satellites’ end-of-life decay time by more than 80 percent.
The decision follows a December incident in which one Starlink satellite created minor debris and briefly cut communications with another spacecraft. Michael Nicholls, SpaceX vice-president of engineering, said the adjustment will also mitigate risks from uncoordinated maneuvers and launches by other operators.
Estimates from the European Space Agency indicate over 40,000 objects orbit below 2,000 km, with more than 9,300 owned by SpaceX. Objects over 1 cm in size, over 1.2 million pose potential collision hazards.
Professor Hugh Lewis of the University of Birmingham said SpaceX carried out 144,404 collision avoidance maneuvers between December 2024 and May 2025, a 200 percent increase from the previous period.
Nicholls emphasized the satellite adjustments are part of SpaceX’s ongoing efforts to make orbital operations safer as congestion in low Earth orbit increases.
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned on Sunday that 3.7 million children under five in Afghanistan face an increased risk of malnutritio...
Uzbekistan is preparing for one of its hottest weeks of the year, with electricity demand expected to approach a record as temperatures are forecast t...
Iran has said it remains determined to pursue legal action against Israel and the United States over the deaths of senior officials and civilians duri...
Rocket Lab has agreed to acquire Iridium Communications in an $8 billion deal, giving the space company a global satellite communications network and accelerating its expansion beyond launch services. The acquisition marks a major step in its ambition to become a fully integrated space business.
SpaceX made a historic entrance into the Nasdaq on Friday, surging over 20% in its first day of trading and lifting its valuation to more than $2 trillion. Investors flocked to the world’s largest IPO, betting on Elon Musk’s sprawling empire spanning rockets, AI and beyond.
SpaceX has made history with the largest initial public offering ever in the United States, pricing its shares at $135 each and achieving a market valuation of $1.77 trillion.
NASA has named three American astronauts and one Italian astronaut to fly on its Artemis III mission, a major orbital test planned for late next year that will evaluate lunar landing vehicles developed by SpaceX and Blue Origin.
The 4th Shusha Global Media Forum will bring together nearly 160 media leaders, experts and officials from 54 countries in Azerbaijan's historic city of Shusha on 13-14 July, to discuss journalism’s role in peacebuilding, restoring public trust and tackling challenges.
The U.S. has launched fresh strikes on Iran after Tehran targeted a container ship and said it had again closed the Strait of Hormuz. Iran also claimed to have expanded attacks on U.S. military facilities across the Gulf.
Typhoon Bavi, the strongest storm to hit the eastern coast of mainland China this year, brought heavy rain, strong winds, flooding and landslides after making landfall in Zhejiang province on Sunday. More than 2.8 million people were evacuated to safety ahead of the storm.
President Ilham Aliyev is holding his annual question-and-answer session with international journalists at the 4th Shusha Global Media Forum in Azerbaijan.
Qatar is mourning the death of its former ruler, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, who has passed away at the age of 74.
China has successfully tested an experimental rocket recovery system using a net attached to an offshore platform, marking a major step in its efforts to develop reusable rockets and compete with U.S. space technology.
OpenAI on Thursday unveiled ChatGPT Work, a new artificial intelligence agent designed to help professionals create documents, presentations and websites using advanced coding capabilities without requiring programming expertise.
A Swiss humanoid robot capable of displaying the faces of world leaders and business executives was showcased at the AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva on Tuesday (7 July). Developers said the technology could make human-machine interactions more natural and expressive.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that artificial intelligence is developing faster than governments and regulators can manage, calling for globally coordinated rules to reduce risks and ensure the technology is used safely, particularly by children.
Humanoid robots stumbled, collided and recovered as they battled for the RoboCup 2026 football title on Sunday (5 July), showcasing the latest advances in robotics and artificial intelligence at the world's largest competition of its kind.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment