April saw continued high levels of space activity which saw both uncontrolled re-entry and collision alerts at levels above the 12-month rolling average.
All NSpOC warning and protection services were functioning throughout the period.
Re-entry Analysis
April has seen a slight increase in the number of objects re-entering Earth’s atmosphere in April when compared with the previous month.
Of the 92 objects that re-entered, 80 were satellites and 12 were rocket bodies.
May: 56, June: 48, July: 44, August: 89, September: 50, October: 35, November: 47, December: 83, January: 115, February: 129, March: 85, April: 92
In-Space Collision Avoidance
Collision risks to UK-licensed satellites remained steady in April with a 1% increase compared with March, above the rolling average of 2,494.
May: 2,560, June: 1,881, July: 1,795, August: 2,137, September: 3,041, October: 3,181, November: 2,722, December: 2,142, January: 2,694, February: 2,567, March: 2,588, April: 2,620
Number of Objects in Space
There was an increase to the in-orbit population during April, with a net addition of 118 objects added to the US Satellite Catalogue.
A total of 231 newly catalogued objects were attributed to nine SpaceX launches carrying Starlink satellites.
May: 28,850, June: 28,868, July: 28,853, August: 29,626, September: 29,605, October: 29,642, November: 29,781, December: 29,843, January: 29,961, February: 29,989, March: 30,090, April: 30,208
The number of Resident Space Objects (RSOs) reported may be subject to small adjustments over time as the way objects are tracked is refined. Figures in this report reflect the most current available data and may differ slightly from those published in previous months
Fragmentation Analysis
There have been no new fragmentation (break-up) incidents this month.
Space weather
April saw a rise in space weather alerts, including multiple geomagnetic storms, with activity peaking at one strong-level storm
The National Space Operations Centre combines and coordinates UK civil and military space domain awareness capabilities to enable operations, promote prosperity and protect UK interests in space and on Earth from space-related threats, risks and hazards
