A newly leaked onboard video transforms what is becoming one of the most familiar sights in contemporary aerospace into something much more revealing a view of not only a passing train of Starlink satellites but also the exact instant when a new group of the craft starts their separation in Earth’s orbit.
According to SpaceX Starlink engineering vice president Michael Nicolls, who published the video, the recorded event took place shortly after the launch of one of the constellation’s members as it passes through sunrise, sunset and its deployment procedure’s initial phase. According to Nicolls, one can observe as the Starlink satellites “Watch as the Starlink sats cruise over an entire orbit, through sunrise and sunset, and slowly separate from each [other] as they complete their post-launch deployment sequence before beginning orbit raise.”
This is indeed the key point here. Starlink satellites aren’t placed in the correct distance from each other in the rocket; instead, they start their trip tightly compacted in order to get separated after release. Michael Nicolls explains that “The satellites are stacked like a deck of cards in the rocket, which slowly spins when dispensing to impart a small velocity difference, ensuring deconfliction.” Therefore, the line of satellites observed from Earth during each new constellation launch is in reality an example of a traffic regulation system implemented to ensure there is no crowding during the first hours of satellites’ flight.
This is also the reason behind a high visibility of the Starlinks soon after a launch. For the initial time period after being sent up, the satellites fly relatively close to each other and thus make the best possible reflectors of Sunlight that can be easily seen against the dark background of Earth’s sky. After reaching operational altitude of around 550 kilometers above the surface, they start drifting away from each other, thus becoming invisible.
All of the above factors make the release video particularly significant in context of today’s development of Starlink. Having become the largest constellation of artificial satellites deployed by a single company, with the current number of about 10,300 satellites orbiting Earth as of early May 2026, and having exceeded 10 million subscribers worldwide by February, Starlink is no longer a temporary phenomenon. It is becoming an integral part of low-Earth orbit infrastructure designed to provide broadband internet connections, airline communication services, maritime communication channels and cell direct-to-space communications.
The problem of satellite management has also became one of the major issues connected to Starlink. Thanks to onboard propulsion units and automated collision avoidance systems, the satellites can perform necessary orbital correction, stay at the desired orbit and eventually de-orbit. However, the sheer amount of satellites makes their tracking and control quite troublesome, which is reflected in thousands of reported avoidance maneuvers. Moreover, scientists continue raising concerns regarding the possibility of using darker materials and reducing radio and visible radiation due to the increased disturbance of astronomical observations caused by the system’s operation.
The newly published video does not capture these concerns directly. Instead, it allows observing a line of satellites slowly drifting away while Earth occupies the center of the shot. In other words, it reveals the essence of Starlink better than any other webcast: unlike other constellations, this one is not being formed in one particular launch.