Elon Musk Unveils Stargaze, SpaceX’s New System, to Track Space Debris

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Hawthorne: Elon Musk has unveiled Stargaze, a new SpaceX initiative designed to improve safety in low Earth orbit by providing satellite operators with free, precise tracking data to help prevent collisions and reduce space debris.

Announcing the launch on X, the SpaceX chief executive said the company will now offer accurate positional awareness of objects in Earth orbit to all satellite operators at no cost. Stargaze is a Space Situational Awareness (SSA) system aimed at addressing growing concerns over satellite congestion, collision risks and orbital debris.

Under the initiative, SpaceX will also make conjunction data, information that predicts close approaches between objects in space, freely available to operators worldwide.

The move comes amid rising industry alarm over unsafe practices in orbit, including uncoordinated satellite manoeuvres, abandoned rocket bodies and anti-satellite weapons tests. According to data from US-based Slingshot Aerospace, more than 14,000 satellites are currently operating in low Earth orbit, including around 3,500 inactive satellites.

As a result, low Earth orbit is increasingly congested and hazardous, with the risk of collisions that could generate long-lasting debris fields.

“This system will greatly reduce the probability of collisions that create orbital debris, or space junk, hazards,” Musk said.

Unlike traditional ground-based radar systems, Stargaze uses nearly 30,000 embedded star trackers aboard SpaceX satellites to provide continuous, multi-angle detection and monitoring of both active spacecraft and debris.

In a statement posted on X, Starlink said the company hopes the free service will encourage better coordination across the space industry.

“By providing this ephemeris sharing and conjunction screening service free of charge, we hope to motivate operators to take similar steps towards ephemeris sharing and safe flight,” the company said.

SpaceX’s Stargaze initiative signals a push toward greater transparency and cooperation as satellite numbers continue to surge, raising concerns about the long-term sustainability of Earth’s orbital environment.