/nAnticipated and Recent Re-entries - eventually air drag, gravity or retro-fire mean that a spacecraft or satellite is no longer able to stay in orbit. It re-enters the atmosphere to be destroyed or make a safe landing.
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Launches and Orbital Operations


Nottinghamshire, UK
2026 Sep 12
Saturday, Day 255

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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.

The majority of 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 an actual landing.


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 Recent Re-entries list further down the page.

Below are re-entries expected over the next days. The list includes only natural re-entries and it excludes planned events such as a Soyuz, Shenzhou or Dragon spacecraft returning from space station duties.

Table created: 2026 Sep 11, 06:03 UTC

Cat No Designation Name
(SpaceTrack)
Predicted
Date UTC
Prediction
Issued UTC
61915    2024-207DStarlink 325592026 Sep 102026 Sep 6
60051    2024-112PStarlink 318112026 Sep 102026 Sep 11
47762    2021-017ASStarlink 21802026 Sep 102026 Sep 11
46786    2020-074AZStarlink 18932026 Sep 112026 Sep 9
60803    2024-140GECZ-6A debris2026 Sep 112026 Sep 9
64243    2025-119LStarlink 116942026 Sep 112026 Aug 27
69675    2026-144BCZ 7A fourth stage2026 Sep 112026 Sep 10
46383    2020-062BLStarlink 17702026 Sep 122026 Aug 27
47171    2020-088BBStarlink 18882026 Sep 122026 Sep 9
47596    2021-009BAStarlink 20012026 Sep 122026 Sep 9
53206    2022-084TStarlink 44082026 Sep 122026 Sep 2
63117    2025-039PStarlink 329552026 Sep 122026 Sep 9
53323    2022-089ACosmos 25582026 Sep 122026 Sep 10
28222    2004-012CTansuo 1 r/b2026 Sep 132026 Aug 27
45190    2020-012NStarlink 12342026 Sep 132026 Aug 27
53653    2022-105FStarlink 43902026 Sep 132026 Sep 2
47862    2021-021CStarlink 22912026 Sep 132026 Sep 10
53673    2022-105ABStarlink 44562026 Sep 132026 Sep 10
26410    2000-041ASamba2026 Sep 142026 Aug 27
41307    2000-055HKNOAA 16 debris2026 Sep 142026 Sep 9
52574    2022-051AQStarlink 39012026 Sep 142026 Sep 2
46353    2020-062AEStarlink 16562026 Sep 152026 Aug 27
53492    2022-099ADStarlink 44512026 Sep 152026 Sep 2
46160    2020-057AVStarlink 15982026 Sep 162026 Sep 2
46375    2020-062BCStarlink 17242026 Sep 162026 Sep 2
47135    2020-088PStarlink 18452026 Sep 162026 Aug 27
52989    2022-076DStarlink 42932026 Sep 162026 Aug 27
53891    2022-119FStarlink 50412026 Sep 162026 Aug 27
34861    1993-036ACFCosmos 2251 debris2026 Sep 172026 Aug 27
35622    1997-051QUIridium 33 debris2026 Sep 172026 Aug 27
39474    2013-072NSMDC-ONE 2.32026 Sep 172026 Sep 9
44771    2019-074BLStarlink2026 Sep 172026 Aug 27
45414    2020-019BGStarlink 13092026 Sep 172026 Sep 2
53740    2022-107ASStarlink 46072026 Sep 172026 Aug 27
53790    2022-111TStarlink 47342026 Sep 172026 Sep 2
54947    2022-151SLCZ 6A debris2026 Sep 172026 Sep 9
16326    1985-113ACosmos 17072026 Sep 182026 Sep 2
39473    2013-072MTacSat 62026 Sep 182026 Aug 27
40021    2014-033MDUCHIFAT2026 Sep 182026 Sep 9
40972    2015-058JSNAP-3 Eddie2026 Sep 182026 Sep 2
46794    2020-074BHStarlink 19422026 Sep 182026 Aug 27
48427    2021-039ECZ 2C second stage2026 Sep 182026 Aug 27
48465    2021-040APStarlink 26812026 Sep 182026 Aug 27
51133    2022-005AFStarlink 33562026 Sep 182026 Sep 2
52295    2022-041ALStarlink 37652026 Sep 182026 Sep 9
53499    2022-099ALStarlink 44542026 Sep 182026 Sep 2
54776    2022-175UStarlink 54702026 Sep 182026 Sep 9
57412    2023-102JStarlink 301822026 Sep 182026 Sep 9
40970    2015-058GSNAP-3 Alice2026 Sep 192026 Sep 9
46705    2020-073AMStarlink 18052026 Sep 192026 Sep 2
47879    2021-021VStarlink 23362026 Sep 192026 Sep 2
53152    2022-083WStarlink 40452026 Sep 192026 Sep 2


Recent TIP Messages

TIP messages are not a matter of routine and are not issued for all re-entries. They are more up to date and more precise than the Recent Re-entries list.

If you are unfamiliar with how to interpret TIP messages, you 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 entered the 'Recent' list.

Here is a list of TIP messages where the Window is less than about one quarter orbit. Even then it represents as much as ±9000 km of ground track. Where the window is ±1 minute, the re-entry signature was probably registered by a detector carried on a specialised 'space awareness' satellite.

Table created: 2026 Sep 11, 06:03 UTC

Cat No &
Designation
Name Terminal
Date & Time UTC
Lat, Long & Heading
(10 km altitude)
TIP Message
Issued UTC
61915
2024-207D
Starlink 325592026 Sep 6 21:07
± 1 minute(s)
13°.3 south, 156°.7 west
southbound, ± 0.01 orbits
2026 Sep 7 03:48
60051
2024-112P
Starlink 318112026 Sep 10 19:50
± 1 minute(s)
20°.5 south, 162°.3 west
southbound, ± 0.01 orbits
2026 Sep 11 01:50
58925
2024-024J
Weihai 022026 Sep 6 12:50
± 2 minute(s)
22°.4 south, 12°.6 west
southbound, ± 0.02 orbits
2026 Sep 6 17:41
53477
2022-099N
Starlink 44122026 Sep 6 10:52
± 1 minute(s)
30°.0 south, 122°.3 west
southbound, ± 0.01 orbits
2026 Sep 6 16:49
48029
2021-024BE
Starlink 22992026 Sep 6 17:50
± 1 minute(s)
41°.5 south, 130°.6 west
southbound, ± 0.01 orbits
2026 Sep 6 22:54
47818
2021-018AH
Starlink 24012026 Sep 7 19:25
± 1 minute(s)
19°.7 north, 37°.5 west
southbound, ± 0.01 orbits
2026 Sep 8 00:09
47762
2021-017AS
Starlink 21802026 Sep 10 21:41
± 1 minute(s)
33°.1 north, 144°.8 west
southbound, ± 0.01 orbits
2026 Sep 11 03:09
47752
2021-017AG
Starlink 21692026 Sep 9 01:56
± 1 minute(s)
31°.7 south, 149°.3 west
southbound, ± 0.01 orbits
2026 Sep 9 07:00
47745
2021-017Z
Starlink 21592026 Sep 5 03:43
± 1 minute(s)
34°.9 south, 146°.6 west
southbound, ± 0.01 orbits
2026 Sep 5 09:38
46685
2020-073R
Starlink 17812026 Sep 6 01:02
± 1 minute(s)
19°.6 north, 133°.2 west
southbound, ± 0.01 orbits
2026 Sep 6 05:33
46562
2020-070AG
Starlink 17142026 Sep 6 16:31
± 1 minute(s)
14°.8 north, 129°.8 west
southbound, ± 0.01 orbits
2026 Sep 6 22:26


Recent Re-entries

This table is extracted from Space-Track's Catalogue and lists re-entries that occurred in the last 30 days, whether natural or deliberate. Sometimes the date shown indicates when the object was noticed as 'missing from orbit', re-entry may actually have occurred at least one day earlier.

Table created: 2026 Sep 11, 06:03 UTC

Cat No Designation Name Date UTC
 
47752   2021-017AGStarlink 21692026 Sep 9
47818   2021-018AHStarlink 24012026 Sep 7
68319   2026-058AProgress MS-332026 Sep 7
46685   2020-073RStarlink 17812026 Sep 6
46562   2020-070AGStarlink 17142026 Sep 6
48029   2021-024BEStarlink 22992026 Sep 6
53477   2022-099NStarlink 44122026 Sep 6
58925   2024-024JWeihai 022026 Sep 6
61915   2024-207DStarlink 325592026 Sep 6
41142   2000-055BZNOAA 16 debris2026 Sep 6
47745   2021-017ZStarlink 21592026 Sep 5
46159   2020-057AUStarlink 15952026 Sep 4
25520   1998-064BPANSAT (PO-34)2026 Sep 4


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 lost in the mists of time so Space-Track has re-invented it as 'Tracking and Impact Prediction'.

The message includes an estimated time, latitude and longitude for when the object will go through a height of 10 kilometres (definition - Space-Track) above the ground. 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 some cases, the location is imprecise 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). 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.


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