Starlink's plan to avoid orbital near-misses: Ephemeris sharing

SpaceX is urging satellite operators to share ephemeris data to avoid collisions in space. In 2026, Starlink had conjunctions with around 650 unique maneuvering third-party satellites, with only about half of them sharing their ephemeris. Some operators fear sharing ephemeris could reveal proprietary information, while others lack government permission to share data.

Starlink observed around 164,000 conjunctions where time of closest approach was within four hours after an unannounced maneuver over six months. The lack of high-accuracy post-manoeuvre trajectory information can lead to unnoticed conjunctions, increasing risk. SpaceX has applied for permission to operate 100,000 Starlink satellites and up to 1 million Starmind AI satellites, contributing to orbital overcrowding.

The company compares this to air travel being safe due to aircraft sharing flight plans and broadcasting positions. SpaceX provides examples of successful avoidance maneuvers, such as a maneuver in October 2025 reducing a predicted miss distance from 9 km to 57 meters. However, another maneuver in August 2026 resulted in a close pass, highlighting the importance of timely ephemeris sharing.

SpaceX encourages operators to connect to space safety platforms like space-safety.com and its Stargaze service. Experts argue that cooperation across different platforms and national systems is necessary for effective space traffic management, rather than relying on a single company's system.