SpaceX controls two thirds of all active satellites in orbit
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Low Earth orbit has changed radically in recent years. In 2019, fewer than 2,000 active satellites were circling the Earth. As of last June, that number stands at 15,711, according to figures from French monitoring company Look Up. Space, long the exclusive domain of nation states, is evolving into a dense, commercial infrastructure. One company clearly dominates this space: SpaceX.
China increases its satellite count
SpaceX’s Starlink network now comprises 10,365 active satellites. Nearly two in three operational satellites worldwide thus belong to a single private infrastructure. SpaceX is launching almost 3,320 new satellites into orbit within a single year. At this pace, low Earth orbit is filling up and becoming a physical network around the planet that defines telecommunications, connectivity, and power dynamics.
China is taking a different course. Beijing now operates 1,286 active satellites, up from 1,025 the previous year — an increase of more than 25 percent. The Qian Fan and GuoWang constellations are running at full speed, with 126 and 168 active satellites respectively. In the long term, China is targeting 12,000 and 13,000 satellites for each constellation. Dependence on Western infrastructure is clearly not a sustainable strategic option for China.
Europe is falling behind in orbit
Europe, by contrast, appears rather static. Eutelsat OneWeb operates 651 active satellites in orbit and has seen no notable additional launches in recent months. While the US is privatizing orbital infrastructure at a rapid pace and China is building its own constellations, Europe seems to regard low Earth orbit as a question of sovereignty — one it recognizes as significant, but in which it has yet to set the pace.
According to Look Up, more than 33,000 objects in Earth orbit are being tracked, including active satellites, rocket stages, and catalogued space debris. Space is still often framed as conquest, but the real issues have long since become traffic, surveillance, security, and sustainability. Look Up was founded in 2022 by Michel Friedling, former commander of the French Space Forces, and Juan-Carlos Dolado Perez, former head of the space surveillance division at CNES. The company’s SYNAPSE platform processes orbital data, while its SORASYS network targets space traffic monitoring via radar.
Amazon and others challenge SpaceX
Low Earth orbit is developing into critical infrastructure for communications, observation, digital services, and military purposes. At the same time, new dependencies are emerging there. SpaceX’s dominance is also potentially concerning. However, the company is not entirely without competition. Additional constellations such as Amazon’s Project Kuiper are poised for launch.
There are also major concerns surrounding the growth of satellite networks. The high number of objects dramatically increases the number of potential collision warnings. According to t3n, this situation requires automated avoidance systems such as ESA’s CREAM program. Astronomers are also warning of light pollution caused by reflective satellite surfaces.
Even low failure rates across thousands of units can lead to uncontrollable space debris. This makes reliable deorbiting of satellites at the end of their operational life increasingly necessary. SpaceX has a potential solution for this: the company regularly allows satellites to burn up in orbit.
