SpaceX Loses Contact with Starlink Satellite After Anomaly

SpaceX announced on March 30 that it had lost contact with one of its Starlink satellites, identified as number 34343, following an anomaly in low Earth orbit on March 29. The satellite, operating at approximately 560 kilometers above Earth, experienced the unspecified malfunction, prompting the company to monitor for potential debris and coordinate with NASA and the U.S. Space Force.

The incident occurred while the satellite was part of the Starlink constellation, which provides global broadband internet service through thousands of spacecraft in low Earth orbit. SpaceX stated that initial analysis indicated no immediate risk to the International Space Station, its crew, or upcoming missions, including NASA's Artemis II crewed lunar test flight scheduled for later this year and the Transporter-16 rideshare launch that departed on March 30 with client payloads. "Latest analysis shows the event poses no new risk to the International Space Station, its crew, or to the launch of NASA's Artemis II mission," the company posted on X, formerly Twitter.

Independent orbital tracking firm LeoLabs confirmed the event, describing it as a "fragment creation event" detected by its radar...