Reentry watch: satellites falling back to Earth
A running record of the satellites, rocket stages, and space stations that have come back through the atmosphere. Every entry is sourced. For live predictions of what reenters next, see the tracking links below.
The board
| Object | Operator | Mass | Reentry | Type | Came down over | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starlink batch (≈260 satellites) | SpaceX / USA | ≈260 kg each | Dec 2025 – May 2026 | Controlled | Open ocean | Disposed |
| ISS battery pallet (EP9) | NASA / ISS | ≈2,600 kg | 8 Mar 2024 | Uncontrolled | Gulf of Mexico / Florida | Debris found |
| ERS-2 | ESA / Europe | ≈2,300 kg | 21 Feb 2024 | Uncontrolled | North Pacific Ocean | Burned up |
| Aeolus | ESA / Europe | ≈1,360 kg | 28 Jul 2023 | Assisted | Atlantic ground track | Disposed |
| RHESSI | NASA / USA | ≈270 kg | 20 Apr 2023 | Uncontrolled | Sahara ground track | Burned up |
| Long March 5B (Y3) | CASC / China | ≈21.6 t core stage | 30 Jul 2022 | Uncontrolled | Indian Ocean; debris on Borneo | Debris found |
| Long March 5B (Y2) | CASC / China | ≈21 t core stage | 9 May 2021 | Uncontrolled | Indian Ocean near the Maldives | Burned up |
| Long March 5B (maiden) | CASC / China | ≈18 t core stage | 11 May 2020 | Uncontrolled | Atlantic; debris on Ivory Coast | Debris found |
| Space Shuttle Columbia | NASA / USA | ≈82 t | 1 Feb 2003 | Uncontrolled | Texas and Louisiana | Debris found |
| Mir space station | Russia | ≈135 t | 23 Mar 2001 | Controlled | South Pacific near Fiji | Disposed |
| Salyut 7 (with Kosmos 1686) | USSR | ≈40 t | 7 Feb 1991 | Uncontrolled | Over Argentina | Debris found |
| Skylab | NASA / USA | ≈75.7 t | 11 Jul 1979 | Uncontrolled | Indian Ocean and Western Australia | Debris found |
| Kosmos 954 | USSR | ≈3,800 kg | 24 Jan 1978 | Uncontrolled | Northern Canada | Debris found |
Outcome: Disposed controlled or designed-for-demise Burned up uncontrolled, broke up over ocean Debris found material reached land. Object names link to the source.
How to read this board
Reentry is constant. Something that was launched into low orbit is always losing a little altitude to the thin air that reaches those heights, and once it drops far enough the fall becomes quick. The board above collects the reentries worth remembering: the routine disposals, the uncontrolled rocket stages, and the rare cases where debris reached the ground. Each row is a real event with a cited source.
Most reentries end the same way. The object breaks up between roughly 80 and 60 kilometers up, and the lighter structure burns away. Dense parts, such as titanium tanks and steel reaction wheels, sometimes survive to the surface, which is why the outcome column matters more than the size of the object.
Where to track upcoming reentries
This page records reentries that have happened. For predictions of what comes down next, the working sources are the same ones professional trackers use:
- The Aerospace Corporation reentry predictions, which publishes forecast windows for large objects due back soon.
- Space-Track, the US Space Force catalogue, which lists decay predictions for tracked objects.
- ESA's Space Debris Office, which reports on major European reentries such as ERS-2 and Aeolus.
A prediction made a week out can be off by days, because a small change in solar activity puffs up the upper atmosphere and speeds the fall. The forecast only sharpens in the final hours. Our explainer on what happens during reentry covers why the timing stays uncertain, and the satellite falling to Earth guide covers how often it happens and how safe it is.
Sources
- ESA Space Environment Report 2025
- The Aerospace Corporation, reentry predictions
- Per-row sources are linked from each object name in the table above.
Frequently asked questions
How can I track satellites that are about to reenter?
For live predictions of objects due to reenter in the next days, follow The Aerospace Corporation's reentry predictions and the US Space Force catalogue at Space-Track. This page is a sourced record of reentries that have already happened, not a live feed.
How often do satellites and rockets fall back to Earth?
Tracked objects reenter almost every day. Most are small and burn up over ocean. SpaceX alone deorbits one to two Starlink satellites per day, and larger uncontrolled reentries happen several times a year.
Has anyone been hurt by falling space debris?
Only one person is known to have been touched by space debris: Lottie Williams, brushed by a light rocket fragment in Oklahoma in 1997, and she was unharmed. Debris has damaged property, such as the 2024 fragment that hit a house in Naples, Florida.
What is the difference between a controlled and an uncontrolled reentry?
A controlled reentry uses a final engine burn to aim the object at a remote ocean, as Russia did with Mir in 2001. An uncontrolled reentry lets air drag bring the object down on its own, so the exact time and place stay uncertain until the last hours.