SpaceX Will Move Thousands of Starlinks Closer to Earth in 2026. Here’s Why

Earth’s orbit is getting overcrowded, increasing the risk of satellite collisions that could disrupt vital services, create dangerous debris clouds, and—in some cases—send chunks of wreckage careening through the atmosphere. To address this problem, the operator of the largest megaconstellation in the world is going to move thousands of its satellites closer to the ground.

On New Year’s Day, Michael Nicolls, vice president of Starlink engineering at SpaceX, announced that the…