May saw more stable levels of space activity with both uncontrolled re-entry and collision alerts at levels below the 12-month rolling average.
All NSpOC warning and protection services functioned as expected throughout the period.
Re-entry Analysis
May saw a 30% decrease in the number of objects re-entering Earth’s atmosphere, tracked by NSpOC, when compared with the previous month.
Of the 64 objects that re-entered, 55 were satellites and 9 were rocket bodies.
June: 48, July: 44, August: 89, September: 50, October: 35, November: 47, December: 83, January: 115, February: 129, March: 85, April: 92, May: 64
In-Space Collision Avoidance
Collision risks to UK-licensed satellites were lower in May with a 41% decline when compared with April, caused by fewer interactions between UK licenced objects and other spacecraft or debris over the previous 30 days.
June: 1,881, July: 1,795, August: 2,137, September: 3,041, October: 3,181, November: 2,722, December: 2,142, January: 2,694, February: 2,567, March: 2,588, April: 2,620, May: 1,546
Number of Objects in Space
The in-orbit population increased in May, with a net addition of 198 objects to the US Satellite Catalogue.
June: 28,868, July: 28,853, August: 29,626, September: 29,605, October: 29,642, November: 29,781, December: 29,843, January: 29,961, February: 29,989, March: 30,090, April: 30,208, May: 30,393
The number of Resident Space Objects (RSOs) reported may be subject to small adjustments over time as the way objects are tracked is refined. Figures in this report reflect the most current available data and may differ slightly from those published in previous months.
Fragmentation Analysis
There have been no new fragmentation (break-up) incidents this month.
Space weather
Space weather impact modelling suggests a possible moderate to high estimated effect on satellite communications, aviation and marine transport systems during this reporting period.
Comments
The National Space Operations Centre combines and coordinates UK civil and military space domain awareness capabilities to enable operations, promote prosperity and protect UK interests in space and on Earth from space-related threats, risks and hazards.