Orbital Debris Necessitating Hundreds of Collision Maneuvers: SpaceX

Due to orbital debris generated by Russia's November anti-satellite weapon exercise "and other intentional activity by governments," SpaceX satellites have had to perform hundreds of avoidance maneuvers, it told the FCC in a status report last week. It said about 60 of its Starlink satellites were deorbited between June 1 and Dec. 1. It said it lost control of two satellites during that span, and components believed to be responsible for those failures have been removed from future designs. One of those incidents, on Oct. 22, came around the time China said a SpaceX satellite came perilously close to the China Space Station (see 2112270053).