Frequently Asked Questions
Most questions about Starlink fall into a few groups: how big the constellation actually is, when and how you can see it from the ground, what the service does, and where the numbers on this site come from. Short answers below; the guides go considerably deeper on each.
The constellation
- How many Starlink satellites are in orbit?
- SpaceX has launched over 12,000 Starlink satellites since 2019, with several thousand active in low Earth orbit at any moment. The number changes constantly as new batches launch and older satellites are retired, so the count shown on this site is computed from current published orbital data rather than being a fixed figure.
- What altitude do Starlink satellites orbit at?
- Most operational satellites sit between roughly 540 and 570 km, arranged into distinct orbital shells rather than spread evenly. Newer second-generation shells sit somewhat lower. Satellites well below that band are usually either newly launched and still climbing to their assigned shell, or older satellites being deorbited.
- How fast do Starlink satellites move?
- About 7.6 km per second, or roughly 27,000 km/h, completing one orbit of the Earth every 90 to 95 minutes. From the ground that means a satellite crosses from horizon to horizon in a handful of minutes.
- How long does a Starlink satellite last?
- About five years by design. The usual limiting factor is propellant — at 550 km there is enough residual atmosphere to cause drag, so holding altitude requires periodic thruster firings. When the propellant runs out the satellite is deliberately deorbited and burns up on re-entry.
Tracking and visibility
- Can I track a Starlink satellite in real time?
- Yes. Every satellite has its own page here with a live 3D globe, real-time position, altitude, velocity and orbit, computed from the latest published orbital elements using the SGP4 propagation model. Positions are recalculated continuously in your browser rather than being served as a static snapshot.
- How do I see which Starlink satellites are over my location?
- Open the coverage page, search your city or share your location, and you will see how many Starlink satellites are above your horizon right now, where to look in the sky for each one, and a live sky chart. This is the same geometric calculation a Starlink dish performs when choosing which satellite to point at.
- Are Starlink satellites visible to the naked eye?
- Often, during twilight. Satellites are only visible when sunlight reflects off them while your own sky is dark, which happens roughly one to two hours after sunset and before sunrise. Modern operational satellites are much dimmer than the first generation, but freshly launched batches — which fly lower before raising their orbits — are considerably brighter.
- What is the Starlink train?
- A recently launched batch of satellites, still clustered along the same orbit, appearing as a line of evenly spaced steady lights crossing the sky together. The effect is brightest for the first three to five days after launch and fades over a few weeks as the satellites spread out and climb to their operational altitude.
- Why did the satellite I was watching suddenly disappear?
- It flew into Earth's shadow. Satellites are visible only by reflected sunlight, so crossing the shadow boundary makes one fade to nothing over a few seconds. Nothing has happened to the satellite — you have watched it fly into night from the outside.
- How accurate are the pass predictions on this site?
- For orbital elements a few hours old, accurate to well within what a naked-eye observer needs. Accuracy decays as elements age, because atmospheric drag varies with solar activity and satellites manoeuvre without warning. This site refreshes its data from the public feed several times a day for exactly that reason.
The service
- What makes Starlink different from older satellite internet?
- Altitude. Traditional satellite internet uses a few satellites at 35,786 km, which adds roughly half a second of round-trip delay and makes anything interactive unusable. Starlink uses thousands of satellites at about 550 km, cutting typical latency to 25–60 ms — the difference between a connection you tolerate and one you can actually work on.
- Why is Starlink waitlisted in my area?
- Because the cell covering your address has sold as much capacity as the satellites passing over it can carry. It is a congestion limit rather than a coverage gap, which is why densely subscribed suburbs are often waitlisted while genuinely remote areas are available immediately.
- Do Starlink satellites talk to each other?
- Every satellite from the v1.5 generation onward carries optical laser terminals that link it to neighbouring satellites, forming a mesh network in orbit. That is what allows service in mid-ocean, polar and deep-wilderness locations where no ground station is within range.
About this site
- Where does the orbital data come from?
- Published two-line element sets from CelesTrak, which curates feeds derived from the public satellite catalogue. Elements are refreshed several times a day and propagated with SGP4 — the standard model for this class of orbit — to produce live positions and pass forecasts.
- How often is the data updated?
- Orbital elements are refreshed from the upstream feed every few hours. Positions are then propagated live in your browser, so the globe and coverage views keep moving continuously between refreshes rather than sitting still until the next update.
- Is TrackStarlink affiliated with SpaceX?
- No. TrackStarlink is an independent project built on publicly available orbital data. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by SpaceX or Starlink, and all information here is provided for informational purposes only.
Question not answered here? The guide library covers the same ground in detail, or get in touch.