SpaceX Satellite Malfunction: A satellite of SpaceX’s Starlink internet service suddenly malfunctioned on December 17, 2025. Gas escaped from its propulsion tank. Control was lost and it started spinning uncontrollably in space. The company confirmed that the satellite is mostly intact, but some small debris has been found. It will enter the Earth’s atmosphere and burn up in a few weeks.
To investigate this incident, SpaceX took the help of Venter Company’s Worldview-3 satellite. WorldView-3 took high-resolution images from 241 kilometers away, which show that the satellite’s solar panels are intact, but undamaged. This incident highlights the increasing danger of debris and collisions in space.
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What happened?
- Satellite number 35956, which was at an altitude of 418 kilometers, suddenly went out of control.
- Due to problem like explosion of propulsion tank, gas was released, altitude was reduced by 4 kilometers and small debris was formed.
- SpaceX says there is no major threat – the satellite will fall and burn completely. But this incident shows how risky space has become with mega-constellations (thousands of satellites).
Starlink now has more than 9,000 active satellites, which is a large part of the total active satellites.
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Danger of Kessler syndrome: ‘House of cards’ in space
According to a new research paper An Orbital House of Cards (arXiv, 2025), the danger has increased due to the rapid increase in the number of satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO)…
- Now every 22 seconds two satellites pass within 1 kilometer. For Starlink this happens every 11 minutes.
- If the satellites lose control (such as a major solar storm), a catastrophic collision could occur in just 2.8 days.
- In 2018 this time was 121 days – Mega-Constellation reduced this significantly.
- Kessler syndrome occurs when a collision creates debris, which creates more collisions – a chain reaction. This fills the space with debris and makes new launches impossible.
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Impact of these events on Earth: What damages could be caused?
These space events can directly cause major damage to the Earth, because our life depends on satellites…
- Internet and communication outage: Satellites like Starlink provide global internet. If thousands are destroyed, the internet will be cut off in remote areas. Mobile networks, video calls, online banking will be affected.
- GPS and navigation problems: Cars, ships, airplanes run on GPS. Without this, accidents will increase. Transport may come to a standstill.
- Shock to banking and economy: Stock market, online transactions depend on satellite timing. Loss of billions of dollars due to stoppage for days.
- Weather forecast and disaster warning: Weather information is obtained from satellites. Warning of storm and flood will be received late. Loss of life and property will increase.
- Defense and Security: Monitoring is done through satellites. There may be weakness in war or anti-terrorism missions.
- Science and Research Stop: Space stations and telescopes will be affected. New space missions may stop.
- Long Term Threat: If Kessler syndrome occurs, it will be difficult to go to space for decades. Human space travel may stop.
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