March saw continued high levels of space activity which saw both
uncontrolled re-entry and collision alerts at levels above the
12-month rolling average. All NSpOC warning and protection
services functioned as expected throughout the period.
Re-entry Analysis
March has seen a reduction in the number of objects re-entering
Earth's atmosphere when compared with the previous two months.
Of the 85 objects that re-entered, 73 were satellites, 7 were
rocket bodies, 1 was a piece of debris and 4 were unidentified
objects, likely to be either a rocket body or a satellite.
April: 22, May: 56, June: 48, July: 44, August: 89, September:
50, October: 35, November: 47, December: 83, January: 115,
February: 129, March: 85
In-Space Collision Avoidance
Collision risks to UK-licensed satellites remained steady in
March with a 1% increase compared with February, above the
rolling average of 2,434.
April: 1,899, May: 2,560, 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
Number of Objects in Space
There was an increase to the in-orbit population during March,
with 285 newly catalogued objects added to the US Satellite
Catalogue.
131 newly catalogued objects were attributed to the Starlink
constellation with a further 74 catalogued objects coming from
the Falcon 9 Transporter 13 mission on 15 March.
April: 28,752, May: 28,850, June: 28,931, July: 28,917, August:
29,297, September: 29,678, October: 29,665, November: 29,826,
December: 29,921, January: 29,985, February: 30,163, March:
30,323
Fragmentation Analysis
There have been no new fragmentation (break-up) incidents this
month.
Space weather
Space weather was relatively quiet during March 2025 with a
general absence of significant solar activity. Key events this
period included:
Early – Mid March:
Periods of enhanced geomagnetic activity were observed throughout
the month. Possible impacts on satellites include increased drag
on those in LEO which may have required corrective manoeuvres.
High frequency radio propagation may also have been degraded at
higher latitudes.
28 March:
One of the more notable events from last month was a strong
high-frequency radio blackout, affecting much of the sunlit side
of the Earth for about an hour. Low frequency navigation systems
may have been degraded for a similar amount of time.
31 March:
A minor radiation storm occurred, with satellites likely to have
experienced a modest increase in Single Event Upsets (SEUs).
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
