Feeling the Heat!
Air drag and, sometimes, gravitational effects cause satellites to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere. Occasionally, re-entry is caused by a deliberate decision of a satellite owner to fire a retro-rocket and bring some part of a space vehicle back to Earth.
Most re-entries result in the vehicle being destroyed by frictional heating as it passes through the Earth's atmosphere. Some fragments may get through and hit the Earth's surface - hence the system of TIP messages to warn of the event. Only a space vehicle fitted with a heat shield will get through the atmosphere for a landing.
NOTE - Names used here are as used by Space-Track rather than the more-descriptive ones in the Orbital Focus tables.
Anticipated Re-entries
Information comes from Space-Track. Most entries are from the 60-day decay prediction messages. If the re-entry date has already passed then you might find the object is also in the actual re-entry list further down the page.
Below are re-entries expected over the next few weeks. The table includes only natural re-entries of satellites and rocket bodies. It excludes debris items and planned events like a Soyuz, Shenzhou or Dragon spacecraft returning from space station duties.
Cat No |
Designation |
Name (SpaceTrack) |
Predicted Date UTC |
Prediction Issued UTC |
45698 | 2020-035AT | STARLINK-1370 | 2024 Apr 19 | 2024 Apr 11 | 46158 | 2020-057AT | STARLINK-1589 | 2024 Apr 19 | 2024 Mar 28 | 47741 | 2021-017V | STARLINK-2154 | 2024 Apr 19 | 2024 Apr 11 | 52909 | 2022-068C | YAOGAN-35 02C | 2024 Apr 19 | 2024 Apr 16 | 45199 | 2020-012X | STARLINK-1197 | 2024 Apr 20 | 2024 Apr 11 | 52407 | 2022-047P | SPACEBEE-149 | 2024 Apr 20 | 2024 Apr 11 | 52767 | 2022-057AM | CNCE4 | 2024 Apr 20 | 2024 Apr 11 | 45076 | 2020-006AJ | STARLINK-1180 | 2024 Apr 21 | 2024 Apr 11 | 45214 | 2020-012AN | STARLINK-1233 | 2024 Apr 21 | 2024 Apr 11 | 47311 | 2021-002C | AO-109 | 2024 Apr 21 | 2024 Apr 18 | 48591 | 2021-041AQ | STARLINK-2248 | 2024 Apr 21 | 2024 Apr 11 | 44946 | 2020-001AJ | STARLINK-1110 | 2024 Apr 22 | 2024 Apr 4 | 45371 | 2020-019M | STARLINK-1287 | 2024 Apr 22 | 2024 Apr 11 | 46166 | 2020-057BB | STARLINK-1615 | 2024 Apr 22 | 2024 Apr 11 | 48027 | 2021-024BC | STARLINK-2300 | 2024 Apr 22 | 2024 Apr 4 | 45691 | 2020-035AL | STARLINK-1415 | 2024 Apr 23 | 2024 Apr 18 | 46282 | 2020-061L | FLOCK 4V 9 | 2024 Apr 23 | 2024 Apr 11 | 54022 | 2022-126C | CZ-11H R/B | 2024 Apr 23 | 2024 Apr 11 | 37378 | 2011-011B | DELTA 4 R/B | 2024 Apr 24 | 2024 Apr 11 | 45050 | 2020-006G | STARLINK-1140 | 2024 Apr 24 | 2024 Apr 11 | 45059 | 2020-006R | STARLINK-1165 | 2024 Apr 24 | 2024 Apr 11 | 45372 | 2020-019N | STARLINK-1288 | 2024 Apr 24 | 2024 Apr 11 | 58254 | 2023-172B | CZ-3B R/B | 2024 Apr 24 | 2024 Apr 4 | 45079 | 2020-006AM | STARLINK-1149 | 2024 Apr 25 | 2024 Apr 18 | 45166 | 2020-009B | H-2A R/B | 2024 Apr 25 | 2024 Apr 11 | 45463 | 2020-021D | CZ-2C R/B | 2024 Apr 25 | 2024 Apr 18 | 47475 | 2021-006BQ | FLOCK 4S 31 | 2024 Apr 25 | 2024 Apr 11 | 46067 | 2020-055AS | STARLINK-1529 | 2024 Apr 26 | 2024 Apr 11 | 47501 | 2021-006CS | KEPLER-10 (BABY YODA) | 2024 Apr 26 | 2024 Apr 18 | 47570 | 2021-009Y | STARLINK-1969 | 2024 Apr 26 | 2024 Apr 11 | 47738 | 2021-017S | STARLINK-2149 | 2024 Apr 26 | 2024 Apr 4 | 51046 | 2022-002BQ | FLOCK 4X 19 | 2024 Apr 26 | 2024 Apr 11 | 56734 | 2023-069D | CZ-2C R/B | 2024 Apr 26 | 2024 Apr 11 | 43224 | 2018-021B | H-2A R/B | 2024 Apr 27 | 2024 Apr 18 | 47499 | 2021-006CQ | FLOCK 4S 40 | 2024 Apr 27 | 2024 Apr 11 | 47948 | 2021-022S | LACUNASAT-2B | 2024 Apr 27 | 2024 Apr 18 | 52412 | 2022-047U | SPACEBEE-146 | 2024 Apr 27 | 2024 Apr 11 | 45667 | 2020-035L | STARLINK-1450 | 2024 Apr 29 | 2024 Apr 18 | 47317 | 2021-002J | OBJECT J | 2024 Apr 29 | 2024 Apr 11 | 47454 | 2021-006AT | KEPLER-13 (LUCKY) | 2024 Apr 29 | 2024 Apr 18 | 48005 | 2021-024AE | STARLINK-2254 | 2024 Apr 29 | 2024 Mar 28 | 56206 | 2023-054AE | LEMUR 2 ROMEO-N-LEO | 2024 Apr 29 | 2024 Apr 11 | 46072 | 2020-055AX | STARLINK-1539 | 2024 Apr 30 | 2024 Apr 18 | 47319 | 2021-002L | EXOCUBE 2 | 2024 Apr 30 | 2024 Apr 18 | 42783 | 2017-036U | DIAMOND RED | 2024 May 2 | 2024 Apr 11 | 44413 | 2019-038AD | LEMUR 2 YNDRD | 2024 May 2 | 2024 Apr 11 | 45392 | 2020-019AJ | STARLINK-1290 | 2024 May 2 | 2024 Apr 18 | 46722 | 2020-073BE | STARLINK-1825 | 2024 May 2 | 2024 Mar 28 | 49731 | 2021-115H | STARLINK-3228 | 2024 May 2 | 2024 Apr 18 | 44404 | 2019-038U | CARBONIX | 2024 May 3 | 2024 Apr 18 | 47599 | 2021-009BD | STARLINK-2004 | 2024 May 3 | 2024 Mar 28 | 45709 | 2020-035BE | STARLINK-1421 | 2024 May 4 | 2024 Apr 18 | 46673 | 2020-073D | STARLINK-1717 | 2024 May 5 | 2024 Apr 18 | 46686 | 2020-073S | STARLINK-1783 | 2024 May 5 | 2024 Apr 18 | 47459 | 2021-006AY | SPACEBEE-55 | 2024 May 5 | 2024 Apr 18 | 52394 | 2022-047A | SPACEBEE-143 | 2024 May 5 | 2024 Apr 11 | 52409 | 2022-047R | SPACEBEE-150 | 2024 May 5 | 2024 Apr 11 | 52401 | 2022-047H | SPACEBEE-142 | 2024 May 6 | 2024 Apr 11 | 52411 | 2022-047T | SPACEBEE-145 | 2024 May 6 | 2024 Apr 11 | 53131 | 2022-082D | CZ-2C R/B | 2024 May 6 | 2024 Apr 11 | 57455 | 2023-106D | CZ-2D R/B | 2024 May 6 | 2024 Apr 11 | 37852 | 2011-061C | DICE 2 | 2024 May 8 | 2024 Apr 18 | 46787 | 2020-074BA | STARLINK-1899 | 2024 May 8 | 2024 Mar 28 | 47999 | 2021-024Y | STARLINK-2218 | 2024 May 8 | 2024 Apr 18 | 48011 | 2021-024AL | STARLINK-2272 | 2024 May 8 | 2024 Apr 18 | 52413 | 2022-047V | SPACEBEE-151 | 2024 May 8 | 2024 Apr 11 | 52769 | 2022-057AP | LEMUR 2 MIMI1307 | 2024 May 8 | 2024 Apr 11 | 44938 | 2020-001AA | STARLINK-1082 | 2024 May 9 | 2024 Apr 18 | 45730 | 2020-038A | STARLINK-1461 | 2024 May 9 | 2024 Apr 18 | 47318 | 2021-002K | OBJECT K | 2024 May 9 | 2024 Apr 11 | 52414 | 2022-047W | SPACEBEE-152 | 2024 May 9 | 2024 Apr 11 | 48906 | 2021-059AD | UMBRA-2001 | 2024 May 10 | 2024 Apr 11 | 52410 | 2022-047S | SPACEBEE-144 | 2024 May 10 | 2024 Apr 11 | 48910 | 2021-059AH | GNOMES-2 | 2024 May 11 | 2024 Apr 18 | 46049 | 2020-055Y | STARLINK-1530 | 2024 May 12 | 2024 Apr 18 | 47744 | 2021-017Y | STARLINK-2158 | 2024 May 12 | 2024 Apr 18 | 44875 | 2019-092C | ASAP-S | 2024 May 13 | 2024 Apr 11 | 45559 | 2020-025AE | STARLINK-1344 | 2024 May 13 | 2024 Apr 18 | 47493 | 2021-006CJ | LEMUR 2 MANGO1 | 2024 May 13 | 2024 Apr 11 | 47751 | 2021-017AF | STARLINK-2168 | 2024 May 13 | 2024 Apr 11 | 51075 | 2022-002CV | USA 320 | 2024 May 13 | 2024 Apr 18 | 52417 | 2022-047Z | SPACEBEE-154 | 2024 May 13 | 2024 Apr 11 | 43855 | 2018-104G | CHOMPTT | 2024 May 14 | 2024 Apr 18 | 44924 | 2020-001L | STARLINK-1111 | 2024 May 15 | 2024 Apr 18 | 47538 | 2021-006DY | LEMUR 2 NOOBNOOB | 2024 May 16 | 2024 Apr 11 | 52400 | 2022-047G | SPACEBEE-141 | 2024 May 16 | 2024 Apr 11 | 43856 | 2018-104H | CP11 (ISX) | 2024 May 18 | 2024 Apr 18 | 52948 | 2022-074E | GPX2 3U | 2024 May 18 | 2024 Apr 11 | 12159 | 1981-009D | SL-6 R/B(2) | 2024 May 19 | 2024 Apr 4 | 43694 | 2018-088E | PROXIMA I | 2024 May 19 | 2024 Apr 18 | 52416 | 2022-047Y | SPACEBEE-155 | 2024 May 19 | 2024 Apr 11 | 47801 | 2021-018Q | STARLINK-2382 | 2024 May 20 | 2024 Apr 18 | 52415 | 2022-047X | SPACEBEE-147 | 2024 May 20 | 2024 Apr 11 |
Recent TIP Messages
Publication of TIP messages is not a matter of routine and they are not issued for all re-entries. They are more up to date and more precise than entries in the table and take precedence over them.
Readers unfamiliar with how to interpret TIP messages are recommended to read the Note at the bottom of the page.
Sometimes there may be a delay between the final TIP message and the re-entry being formally logged in Space-Track's Catalogue so a Message here may relate to a re-entry that has not yet moved from the 'Anticipated' list to the 'Recent' list.
Orbital Focus shows the predicted impact point only when the Window is less than about one quarter orbit. Even then it represents as much as +/-9000 km.
Table created: 2024 Apr 20, 04:47 UTC
Cat No & Designation |
Name (Space-Track) |
Predicted Date & Time UTC |
Lat, Long & Heading (10 km altitude) |
TIP Message Issued UTC |
58149 2023-165B | SL-4 R/B | 2024 Apr 12 22:46 ± 1 minutes | 60°.1 south, 1°.5 west southbound, ± 0.01 orbits | 2024 Apr 12 23:57 | 54197 2022-141AS | STARLINK-5234 | 2024 Apr 15 03:04 ± 2 minutes | 38°.8 north, 27°.3 west northbound, ± 0.02 orbits | 2024 Apr 15 07:29 | 52909 2022-068C | YAOGAN-35 02C | 2024 Apr 19 10:16 ± 960 minutes | | 2024 Apr 16 09:50 | 48027 2021-024BC | STARLINK-2300 | 2024 Apr 11 09:57 ± 2 minutes | 8°.4 south, 49°.1 west southbound, ± 0.02 orbits | 2024 Apr 13 20:30 | 47738 2021-017S | STARLINK-2149 | 2024 Apr 12 04:44 ± 120 minutes | | 2024 Apr 13 20:14 | 41465 2016-026B | AIST 2D | 2024 Apr 15 05:03 ± 1 minutes | 56°.6 south, 126°.6 west southbound, ± 0.01 orbits | 2024 Apr 15 07:36 |
Recent Re-entries
This table is extracted from Space-Track's Catalogue and lists major re-entries that occurred in the last 30 days, whether natural or deliberate. The list is updated every few hours.
Cat No |
Designation |
Name (SpaceTrack) |
Date UTC |
52909 | 2022-068C | YAOGAN-35 02C | 2024 Apr 19 | 2379 | 1963-014Z | WESTFORD NEEDLES | 2024 Apr 18 | 44842 | 2019-087E | OBJECT E | 2024 Apr 18 | 52175 | 2022-033U | BDSAT | 2024 Apr 18 | 52768 | 2022-057AN | CNCE5 | 2024 Apr 18 | 43157 | 2018-008C | KEPLER-0 (KIPP) | 2024 Apr 17 | 46313 | 2020-061AT | FLOCK 4V 1 | 2024 Apr 17 | 48962 | 2021-059CM | GHALIB | 2024 Apr 17 | 41465 | 2016-026B | AIST 2D | 2024 Apr 15 | 54197 | 2022-141AS | STARLINK-5234 | 2024 Apr 15 | 46281 | 2020-061K | PICASSO-BEL | 2024 Apr 13 | 47738 | 2021-017S | STARLINK-2149 | 2024 Apr 13 | 48027 | 2021-024BC | STARLINK-2300 | 2024 Apr 13 | 52408 | 2022-047Q | SPACEBEE-153 | 2024 Apr 13 | 58149 | 2023-165B | SL-4 R/B | 2024 Apr 13 | 42785 | 2017-036W | DIAMOND GREEN | 2024 Apr 11 | 43842 | 2018-102M | OBJECT M | 2024 Apr 11 | 44946 | 2020-001AJ | STARLINK-1110 | 2024 Apr 11 | 46322 | 2020-061BC | FLOCK 4V 3 | 2024 Apr 11 | 47485 | 2021-006CA | QPS-SAR-2 IZANAMI | 2024 Apr 11 | 52777 | 2022-057AX | VEERY-FS1 | 2024 Apr 11 | 53367 | 2022-095A | OBJECT A | 2024 Apr 11 | 45251 | 2020-014C | XJS E | 2024 Apr 10 | 40909 | 2015-049L | XW-2E | 2024 Apr 9 | 40910 | 2015-049M | XW-2F | 2024 Apr 9 | 44401 | 2019-038R | OBJECT R | 2024 Apr 9 | 44415 | 2019-022E | NARSSCUBE-2 | 2024 Apr 9 | 45605 | 2020-011D | ULTP | 2024 Apr 9 | 47429 | 2021-006S | SPACEBEE-62 | 2024 Apr 9 | 48878 | 2021-058H | GUNSMOKE-J 4 | 2024 Apr 9 | 56230 | 2023-084BP | ISTANBUL | 2024 Apr 9 | 52753 | 2022-057X | UMBRA-03 | 2024 Apr 8 | 58587 | 2023-199B | OBJECT B | 2024 Apr 7 | 4814 | 1970-113B | SL-3 R/B | 2024 Apr 6 | 57862 | 2023-143A | SOYUZ MS-24 | 2024 Apr 6 | 59091 | 2024-041T | STARLINK-31352 | 2024 Apr 6 | 15592 | 1985-020A | COSMOS 1633 | 2024 Apr 5 | 52160 | 2022-033D | ALFACRUX | 2024 Apr 5 | 56873 | 2022-162C | SZ-15 MODULE | 2024 Apr 2 | 42781 | 2017-036S | LEMUR 2 SAM-AMELIA | 2024 Apr 1 | 46089 | 2020-055BQ | GLOBAL-8 | 2024 Apr 1 | 46528 | 2020-061BE | FLOCK 4V 15 | 2024 Mar 30 | 47965 | 2021-023A | VEERY-RL1 | 2024 Mar 30 | 48893 | 2021-059Q | SPACEBEE-106 | 2024 Mar 30 | 48895 | 2021-059S | SPACEBEE-108 | 2024 Mar 30 | 52020 | 2022-026N | SPACEBEE-127 | 2024 Mar 30 | 52279 | 2022-041U | STARLINK-3686 | 2024 Mar 30 | 54248 | 2022-153C | FALCON 9 R/B | 2024 Mar 30 | 59229 | 2024-048B | CZ-2C R/B | 2024 Mar 30 | 48605 | 2021-041BE | CAPELLA-6 (WHITNEY) | 2024 Mar 29 | 43133 | 2018-004Y | OBJECT Y | 2024 Mar 28 | 43844 | 2018-102P | OBJECT P | 2024 Mar 28 | 44405 | 2019-038V | LEMUR 2 DUSTINTHEWIND | 2024 Mar 28 | 44729 | 2019-074S | STARLINK-1024 | 2024 Mar 28 | 44840 | 2019-087C | OBJECT C | 2024 Mar 28 | 46298 | 2020-061AC | LEMUR 2 ETHANOAKES | 2024 Mar 28 | 46597 | 2020-061BG | FLOCK 4V 18 | 2024 Mar 28 | 46609 | 2020-061BH | FLOCK 4V 19 | 2024 Mar 28 | 46816 | 2020-077D | FLOCK 4EP 8 | 2024 Mar 28 | 46931 | 2020-085C | CORVUS BC5 | 2024 Mar 28 | 47511 | 2021-006DC | LEMUR 2 RUAIRI-EILIDH | 2024 Mar 28 | 48884 | 2021-059F | SPACEBEE-101 | 2024 Mar 28 | 48886 | 2021-059H | SPACEBEE-102 | 2024 Mar 28 | 51055 | 2022-002BZ | FLOCK 4X 33 | 2024 Mar 28 | 53374 | 2022-096E | OBJECT E | 2024 Mar 28 | 46291 | 2020-061V | FLOCK 4V 7 | 2024 Mar 27 | 46365 | 2020-062AS | STARLINK-1550 | 2024 Mar 27 | 47520 | 2021-006DL | FLOCK 4S 29 | 2024 Mar 27 | 48109 | 2021-027T | STARLINK-2445 | 2024 Mar 27 | 59295 | 2024-055B | SL-4 R/B | 2024 Mar 25 | 59286 | 2024-052G | CZ-2D R/B | 2024 Mar 23 |
Note on TIP Messages
Close to re-entry time for many objects, SpaceTrack issues TIP Messages with a more-precise warning of the event. The meaning of the TIP acronym is 'Tracking and Impact Prediction'.
The message includes an estimated latitude and longitude for when the object will go through a height of 10 kilometres (definition - Space-Track) above the ground based on the estimated time. It is a rough indication of the start point of the ellipse within which debris might fall given that horizontal velocity will have reduced to near-zero because of air resistance. In most cases, the location is meaningless in practical terms because the Window included in the Message covers a long track across the Earth's surface.
TIP Messages are often a source of confusion as people take the predicted time literally and ignore the error margin (Window) that is also part of the message. In 2011 RIA-Novosti used a TIP Message, issued several weeks in advance, to pinpoint a village in North Africa, doggedly insisting that it would feel the full force of of Phobos-Grunt’s re-entry. SpaceTrack's Window was ±2 days, representing over one million kilometres of ground track and a large proportion of the Earth's surface between 52° North and 52° South.
Page information updated as available |