US aerospace company SpaceX confirmed on Monday that a Starlink satellite experienced an on-orbit anomaly on Sunday, leading to a loss of communications and the creation of debris.
Starlink satellite 34343 lost contact while operating at an altitude of around 560 km above Earth, the company said in a statement shared via Starlink’s official X account.
According to SpaceX’s latest assessment, the anomaly does not pose any new risk to the International Space Station or its crew, nor to NASA’s upcoming Artemis II lunar mission.
The company added that it will continue to monitor the satellite and any trackable debris, coordinating closely with NASA and the US Space Force.
SpaceX also confirmed that the anomaly posed no new risk to the Transporter-16 rideshare mission launched earlier on Monday, as payload deployments for that mission occurred well above or below the Starlink constellation to prevent any potential collisions.
Meanwhile, US space technology firm LeoLabs, which tracks satellites and debris in low Earth orbit, reported on Monday that it detected a fragment generation event linked to Starlink 34343 on Sunday. Their analysis indicates similarities with a previous incident involving Starlink satellite 35956 on December 17, 2025.
LeoLabs emphasized that such events highlight the importance of rapid characterization of anomalies to maintain a clear understanding of the orbital environment.
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