Starlink sprays debris into orbit following another satellite 'anomaly'

Starlink satellite 34343 has suffered an "anomaly on-orbit," spraying debris at an altitude of approximately 560 km above Earth.

The company recently passed the 10,000-satellite milestone, so it is unlikely to miss 34343, but the risk posed by the debris could be a concern for operators.

According to the company, the event poses no new risk to the International Space Station nor the upcoming Artemis II launch, but other than calling it an "anomaly on-orbit, resulting in loss of communications," it has provided no further information.

Orbital object tracking company LeoLabs called the incident "a fragment creation event" and reckoned it was likely caused by "an internal energetic source rather than a collision with space debris or another object." That internal source could be something related to the satellite's propulsion system or perhaps its batteries.

The good news, according to LeoLabs, is that the resulting debris will likely ...