Satellites from SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's Starlink constellation are falling to Earth every day.
Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in the United States, told the space news outlet EarthSky that he measured an average of one to two Starlink satellites exiting orbit every day in 2025.
In March, SpaceX's Starship exploded during its eighth flight test.
That figure is set to rise to about five satellites per day, as SpaceX, which has launched over 2,000 satellites in 2025, continues to expand its space internet constellation.
When asked how many objects were in Earth's low orbit, McDowell stated, "something of the order of 20,000 objects."
"That includes 12,000 working satellites, and then a large number of dead satellites, [and] dead rocket stages," he added.
Videos of Starlink satellites falling to Earth have been shared across social media recently, raising concerns that they could pose a danger to people on the ground.
As of two weeks ago, approximately 20,000 objects are being tracked in low-Earth orbit, including 12,000 operational satellites and 8,500 Starlink satellites.
He also explained that once Starlink and other planned low Earth orbit constellations are fully operational, they will collectively add up to about 30,000 satellites. Nearly five could reenter the Earth's atmosphere every day, given an average replacement cycle of about five years.
With a lifespan of almost five years, Starlink satellites were intentionally made to burn up entirely in the Earth's atmosphere before they even reach the ground.
Despite this, McDowell said that other objects re-entering the Earth might pose a massive threat, since their operators are not controlling them.
"A couple [of] times a month, we have a larger satellite - a non-Starlink satellite - that re-enters," the astronomer noted. "And so every few months, there's a report of a piece of space hardware that's re-entered that ends up on the ground as a significant piece of debris.
"So several times a year we're taking these potshots at people on the Earth and fortunately so far missing," he then stated. "So far we've been very lucky, but it won't last."
McDowell also told the tech news outlet The Register that the minimal amount of research conducted into the effects of so much foreign material burning up in Earth's atmosphere ultimately proved inconclusive.
"So far, answers have ranged from 'this is too small to be a problem' to 'we're already screwed,'" the astronomer said. "But the uncertainty is large enough that there's already a possibility we're damaging the upper atmosphere."
Several groups are researching the impact of the regular incineration of satellites in the Earth's atmosphere, with concerns that they might lead to climate change or other dangerous effects.
"There are indications that things are already getting bad," McDowell stated about the effects of satellite reentry on Earth. "But it's murky right now, and that scares me."
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