Hugh Lewis
@profhughlewis.bsky.social
Professor of Astronautics at University of Birmingham, UK, with interests in #SpaceDebris & #SpaceSustainability. Also a #pwME
Physics
44%
Engineering
39%
Hugh Lewis
@profhughlewis.bsky.social
· Jul 2
Starlink Manoeuvre Update July 2025
Introduction SpaceX filed its semi-annual constellation status report with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on 1st July 2025. I have been tracking the manoeuvre information in these reports...
www.linkedin.com
For anyone here who followed my posts about #Starlink on the bird site (which I am no longer on), I'm pleased to present my regular look at the manoeuvre data from the latest Starlink semi-annual constellation status report: www.linkedin.com/pulse/starli...
Hugh Lewis
@profhughlewis.bsky.social
· Jun 19
Thanks for sharing, Megan. Your term, "starwashing", is really helpful and I will endeavour to use it where I can when highlighting this issue (with credit, of course). I also came across this advert from T-Mobile. We probably need a whole new lexicon for this kind of behaviour...
Hugh Lewis
@profhughlewis.bsky.social
· Jan 4
Phone leaning against a box on the ground, long exposure in astro photography mode, my back garden (so not rural; 1/4 mile from a town centre, though low density and well-directed street lighting on surrounding streets) and lots of warm clothing!
Hugh Lewis
@profhughlewis.bsky.social
· Jan 2
From our back step at 5:30 am last night, looking almost due East from the south of England. This is with the astro mode on my pixel 7. The sky was a bit too bright (not surprising, given the direction). Lots of stars though!
Hugh Lewis
@profhughlewis.bsky.social
· Dec 18
OneWeb Collision Avoidance Manoeuvre Analysis
While waiting for the publication of the semi-annual Starlink constellation status report from SpaceX, which is expected in the next two to three weeks, I thought I'd take a look at some data publishe...
www.linkedin.com
While I was waiting for the next #Starlink constellation status update from SpaceX (due in a few weeks) I took a look at some collision avoidance manoeuvre data published one year ago by #OneWeb. I hope you find it to be of interest. www.linkedin.com/pulse/oneweb...
#SpaceSafety #SpaceSustainability
#SpaceSafety #SpaceSustainability
Hugh Lewis
@profhughlewis.bsky.social
· Dec 4
It was a voluntary move by SpaceX (but possibly "forced" by a need to maintain operations at a similar safety level in a more congested environment). There has been no official explanation offered by SpaceX for the change AFAIK.
Hugh Lewis
@profhughlewis.bsky.social
· Dec 2
Yes, that's correct. Starlink manoeuvres if the collision probability is higher than 1-in-1 million. It used to manoeuvre for probabilities higher than 1-in-100,000. The probability threshold recommended by NASA is 1-in-10,000. Did that help?
Hugh Lewis
@profhughlewis.bsky.social
· Dec 2
I think what some are missing is that the doubling of manoeuvre rate was due predominantly to a change in the collision probability that triggers a manoeuvre. SpaceX shifted Starlink to a threshold of 1E-6 from the previous 1E-5 level. Hope that provides some context.