As Starlink satellite disappeared at 560 km above Earth; tech company LeoLabs tells Elon Musk’s company: Time to give more clarity to these …
Elon Musk’s space company Starlink recently posted an update on satellite 34343, which it lost communication with late last month. The SpaceX-owned global internet company said that the satellite “experienced an anomaly” while it was in LEO at around 560 km above the Earth. On March 30, 2026, the official Starlink X account announced that it lost communications with Starlink satellite 34343. The post cited an “anomaly” as the cause, and it also stated that Starlink and SpaceX would be working on any “corrective actions” should the need arise.However, space technology company LeoLabs had a different explanation for incident. LeoLabs followed up Starlink’s post with a series of posts that described the satellite 34343’s disappearance as a “fragment creation event” hat created at least “tens of objects in the vicinity of the satellite.”
What Starlink said on satellite disappearance
On Sunday, March 29, Starlink satellite 34343 experienced an anomaly on-orbit, resulting in loss of communications with the satellite at ~560 km above Earth. Latest analysis shows the event poses no new risk to the @Space_Station its crew, or to the upcoming launch of NASA’s Artemis II mission. We will continue to monitor the satellite along with any trackable debris and coordinate with @NASA and the @USSpaceForce. The event also posed no new risk to this morning’s Transporter-16 mission, which was designed to avoid Starlink with payload deploys well above or well below the constellation. The SpaceX and Starlink teams are actively working to determine root cause and will rapidly implement any necessary corrective actions.
What LeoLabs said
LeoLabs followed up Starlink’s post with further observations that added additional context:LeoLabs detected a fragment creation event involving SpaceX Starlink 34343 on 29 March 2026.1/ LeoLabs Global Radar Network immediately detected tens of objects in the vicinity of the satellite after the event, with a first pass over our radar site in the Azores, Portugal. Additional fragments may have been produced — analysis is ongoing.2/ We’ve characterized this event as likely caused by an internal energetic source rather than a collision with space debris or another object.Due to the low altitude of the event, fragments from this anomaly will likely de-orbit within a few weeks.3/ Our analysis indicates this event is similar to a previous event involving Starlink 35956 on 17 December 2025. These events illustrate the need for rapid characterization of anomalous events to enable clarity of the operating environment.4/ Our team will continue to monitor the situation and deliver persistent data and insights in support of our customers and partners.
Starlink satellite pictured ‘tumbling’ in 2025
Starlink satellite 35956 suffered from a serious anomaly in December 2025. Here’s how Starlink described the incident in a post on X:On December 17, Starlink experienced an anomaly on satellite 35956, resulting in loss of communications with the vehicle at 418 km. The anomaly led to venting of the propulsion tank, a rapid decay in semi-major axis by about 4 km, and the release of a small number of trackable low relative velocity objects. SpaceX is coordinating with the @USSpaceForce and @NASA to monitor the objects. The satellite is largely intact, tumbling, and will reenter the Earth’s atmosphere and fully demise within weeks. The satellite’s current trajectory will place it below the @Space_Station, posing no risk to the orbiting lab or its crew.As the world’s largest satellite constellation operator, we are deeply committed to space safety. We take these events seriously. Our engineers are rapidly working to root cause and mitigate the source of the anomaly and are already in the process of deploying software to our vehicles that increases protections against this type of event.
