The news
The Otter spacecraft of “Starfish Space” failed in orbit. NASA announced this on 3 November 2026. Otter launched on 1 October 2026. It was meant to approach dead US satellites and inspect them. Contact was lost during commissioning. Its fault-protection software wrongly keeps the radio switched off. NASA and “Starfish Space” say the spacecraft cannot be recovered. NASA’s contract for the mission was $15 million over three years.
How dead satellites could hurt the Earth
- Certain: The “European Space Agency” updated its statistics on 2 November 2026. About 19,610 satellites are in orbit. About 15,800 of them work. Another 2,111 rocket bodies remain in orbit.
- Certain: On 5 October 2026, “Meteor 2-7” broke apart at about 855 km. This dead Soviet weather satellite launched in 1981. The company “LeoLabs” saw it on radar. Tens of new fragments appeared.
- Probable: The “European Space Agency” says in its report of 14 September 2026: debris grows even without new launches. The cause is breakups like “Meteor 2-7”. New fragments appear faster than old ones burn up in the atmosphere.
How removing dead satellites could help the Earth
- Certain: On 15 October 2026, the UK government signed a £61 million contract with “ClearSpace”. In 2029 the company will send a spacecraft. It will grab a dead satellite with a robotic arm. Then it will lower the satellite to burn up in the atmosphere. After that it will go for a second satellite. “Starfish Space” had also bid for this contract.
- Probable: Burning a satellite in the atmosphere may also harm the ozone layer. In 2024, researchers at the University of Southern California calculated: a 250 kg satellite makes about 30 kg of aluminium oxide as it burns. These particles may break down ozone for years.
- Starfish Space says: it will keep inspecting dead satellites with later Otters. NASA had earlier planned the inspections to start in 2027.
- Our estimate: Of the 19,610 satellites in orbit, 15,800 work. So 3,810 satellites are dead. With 2,111 rocket bodies, that makes 5,921 objects left in orbit. If each mission takes two objects, like the UK mission, about 2,960 missions are needed. Will this job ever finish, when debris grows even without new launches?
Our conclusion
For the Earth, every satellite should have an end-of-life plan from the start. Otter failed, and the UK removal mission launches only in 2029. So we should not rely on a later rescue.
We suggest that companies first clean up the old junk in orbit. Then they should send the new satellites.
Tell us what you think
Should companies pay for removing their satellites before they launch them? Write to us. More in Cosmos. New here? Read our Introduction.
Sources
- NASA, NASA-Funded SSPICY Mission Experiences Communications Loss, 3 November 2026.
- SpaceNews, Starfish Space’s first Otter servicing spacecraft fails, 3 November 2026.
- NASA, Getting SSPICY: NASA Funds Orbital Debris Inspection Mission, 2024 (the $15 million contract and the 2027 plan).
- ESA, Space environment statistics, updated 2 November 2026.
- ESA, ESA Space Environment Report 2026, 14 September 2026.
- EarthSky, Another satellite breakup raises concerns about space junk, 9 October 2026.
- SatNews, ClearSpace Wins £61 Million Prime Contract for UK Dual-Satellite Debris Removal Mission, 15 October 2026.
- Ferreira et al., Potential Ozone Depletion From Satellite Demise During Atmospheric Reentry in the Era of Mega-Constellations, Geophysical Research Letters, 2024.
- Unmanned Airspace, UK aims to launch space junk relocation mission in 2029, 2 November 2026.
