Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starlink satellite breaks down in orbit; SpaceX says no threat to ISS

Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starlink recently confirmed that one of its satellites lost communication after an anomaly in orbit on December 17. In a post shared on microblogging platform X (formerly Twitter), the company said satellite 35956 stopped responding at around 418 km altitude, leading to a venting of its propulsion tank and a sudden drop in its orbit. The event also caused the release of “a small number of trackable low-relative-velocity objects.”

The company added that it is working with US Space Force and NASA to monitor the objects and assess their movement.