Counting a network that keeps changing
Starlink has launched 13,059 satellites, according to GCAT, and 1,908 of them are no longer in orbit. Of the rest, 11,137 are active as of October 17, 2026, 65.1% of all active satellites, and 14 are in orbit but not counted as active.
It started small. The two test satellites, Tintin A and B, launched on February 22, 2018, and the first batch of 60 followed in May 2019.
In 2025 SpaceX flew 127 launches carrying Starlink, averaging 25 satellites each, which is 3,207 satellites. 2026 has added 2,236 more across 85 launches through October 16.
Starlink satellites launched per year
Data table
| Year | Launches | Satellites |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 2 | 120 |
| 2020 | 14 | 833 |
| 2021 | 19 | 989 |
| 2022 | 34 | 1,722 |
| 2023 | 63 | 1,984 |
| 2024 | 90 | 1,982 |
| 2025 | 127 | 3,207 |
| 2026 | 85 | 2,236 |
How much of orbit it fills
At the end of 2025, 9,388 of the 17,304 payloads in Earth orbit were Starlink, 54% of all of them, working or not. Among satellites that are still active the share is higher, 65%, because the full count also includes older satellites that stopped working but haven't come down yet.
That 65% also means the rest of the world's active satellites number 5,964.
Why counts vary
The active figure comes from GCAT's active catalogue, whose status GCAT describes as often a guess for satellites that don't maneuver. Newly launched satellites that are still raising their orbits can be counted as active or left out, depending on the source and the day. Starlink satellites that have been deorbited are counted in the launched total but not the active one.
A launch every few days
Starlink launches have risen from 2 in 2019 to 127 in 2025, carrying 3,207 satellites. That's an average of 25.3 per launch. In 2026 there have been 85 launches through October 16, 2026, carrying 2,236.
In total 434 launches have carried Starlink satellites. Starlink launches were 39% of all orbital launches worldwide in 2025. The full SpaceX record is on the SpaceX page.
Why the count keeps falling too
Satellites come down, on purpose and not. SpaceX has said failed satellites are expected to deorbit within five years without propulsion. In February 2022 a geomagnetic storm increased drag and 38 of 49 satellites launched on February 3 reentered by February 12. SpaceX announced in January 2026 a plan to lower about 4,400 satellites from 550 km to 480 km.
That churn is why 1,908 satellites have already left orbit. The longer-term question is covered on the space debris page.
The satellites per launch
Satellites per launch have gone down, not up. The 34 launches in 2022 carried 1,722 satellites, an average of 50.6. The 127 launches in 2025 carried 3,207, an average of 25.3. The log doesn't say why the average moved, though the version 2 mini satellites first launched on February 27, 2023.
At the 2026 pace, 26.3 satellites per launch, the 1,908 that have already left orbit equal about 73 launches' worth.
Against the other networks
Starlink has launched 13,059 satellites. OneWeb has launched 656 and Kuiper 398, so Starlink's launch total is 12 times the two combined.
In 2026 through October 16, 2026, 85 of the world's 246 orbital launches carried Starlink satellites, 35% of them.
The customers
The number of subscribers has risen fast: 1 million in December 2022, 2.3 million in December 2023, 4.4 million in December 2024, 8.9 million in December 2025, 12 million in June 2026. Those are company figures as tabulated in a public reference, and Starlink serves about 160 countries and territories.
Beyond home internet, SpaceX reported successful SMS testing with T-Mobile on January 8, 2024. It bought EchoStar spectrum in September 2025, and the direct-to-cell service was renamed Starlink Mobile in March 2026. One reference put the constellation at about 10,413 satellites in June 2026, with 10,397 operational. GCAT's 11,137 active satellites as of October 17, 2026 fit that growth, since 2,236 launched in 2026 through October 16, 2026.
Astronomers
Starlink's brightness upset astronomers from the start. SpaceX tried DarkSat in November 2019 and VisorSat in August 2020. In response, the IAU set up a center for the protection of dark and quiet skies from satellite constellation interference in February 2022 and a tracking website for astronomers in June 2022.
If you watch the sky yourself, the sky calendar shows what to look for.
Rules and new services
On December 1, 2022 the FCC approved 7,500 Gen2 satellites. Later, SpaceX launched its first satellites with direct-to-cell service on January 2, 2024.
Its competitors are smaller. 652 satellites belong to OneWeb and 392 to Kuiper. The United States page shows how much of the American fleet is Starlink, and the main count page shows the world total.