How many Starlink satellites are there?

As of July 2026: 10,779 active Starlink satellites, live — CC-BY, cite as "data: Cosmik"

As of July 2026, 10,779 Starlink satellites are active in orbit — the live count Cosmik computes every hour from the official CelesTrak catalogue, the same data behind our live Starlink tracker. It is by far the largest satellite constellation ever flown. The shell breakdown and launch cadence are below.

Launched vs active vs deorbited

The 10,779 figure counts Starlink satellites currently operational and tracked. SpaceX has launched well over 8,000 Starlink satellites since the first batch in May 2019, adding 20–60 per Falcon 9; several hundred early or failed units have already been deorbited and burned up on re-entry, which is why the active total sits below the cumulative launched figure. SpaceX plans a constellation of up to 42,000.

Starlink satellites by orbital shell

The constellation is organised into shells at different inclinations (derived live from each satellite's orbit):

Shell (inclination)	Satellites
53° inclination — the main shells at ~550 km, the bulk of the constellation, covering the world's populated latitudes.	5,072
70° inclination — a higher-latitude shell extending coverage toward the poles.	710
~97.6° Sun-synchronous / near-polar — the polar-coverage shell.	1,369
43° inclination — the lower-inclination Gen2 shells for dense mid-latitude capacity.	3,628
Total active Starlink	10,779

How fast is Starlink launching?

1,692 currently-active Starlink satellites reached orbit in 2026 so far, after 3,142 in 2025 — SpaceX launches a fresh batch every few days, more than any other operator in history. Each new launch briefly forms the famous Starlink train of lights. Follow every launch on the launch schedule.

Live from the CelesTrak / NORAD general-perturbations catalogue, updated 2026-07-22 12:56 UTC. Refreshed hourly.

Can you see Starlink satellites?

Yes — especially in the days after a launch, when a fresh batch flies in a tight "train" of lights across the twilight sky. Cosmik shows real per-location pass times on the Starlink tracker, and every satellite live on the 3D map.

How this count is measured

This page reads the CelesTrak "starlink" group — the public catalogue of Starlink objects, sourced from US Space Force / NORAD tracking — and counts it live, hourly. Shells come from each satellite's inclination; launch years from its international designator. "Active" means currently tracked and operational, so the figure is lower than the cumulative number ever launched. See the full satellite context on how many satellites are in orbit.

Cite this number

Everything on this page is free to reuse under CC-BY 4.0 — in an article, a paper, a slide or a dataset. Just credit "data: Cosmik (gocosmik.com)" and link back. Numbers refresh hourly, so the citation stays live. Need a custom cut (by country, by year, by constellation) or a machine feed? Write to hi@gocosmik.com.

data: Cosmik (gocosmik.com), CC-BY 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How many Starlink satellites are there right now?

10,779 Starlink satellites are currently active in orbit (July 2026), a live count refreshed hourly from CelesTrak/NORAD data. It is the largest satellite constellation ever built.

How many Starlink satellites have been launched in total?

SpaceX has launched well over 8,000 Starlink satellites since May 2019. Fewer are active now (10,779) because several hundred early or failed units have already been deorbited. SpaceX is licensed toward a constellation of up to 42,000.

How many Starlink satellites launched in 2026?

At least 1,692 Starlink satellites launched in 2026 are currently active in orbit, after 3,142 in 2025. SpaceX adds a new batch of 20–60 every few days.

Who owns Starlink?

Starlink is owned and operated by SpaceX. With 10,779 active satellites it is by far the largest single satellite operator — more than every other constellation combined.