In September 2026, 77 spacecraft from various nations ceased their orbital existence, averaging 2.57 deorbiting events per day. This figure includes satellites and ships that either re-entered the atmosphere or were intentionally deorbited.
Russia accounted for approximately 3.9% of these events. The Progress MS-33 cargo ship, identified by NORAD number 68319, concluded its mission on September 7. Following its supply run to the International Space Station, the vessel was deorbited to burn up in the atmosphere.
The satellite Cosmos-2558, launched in 2022 and tracked as NORAD 53323, ended its flight on September 12. Additionally, the Soviet-era satellite Cosmos-1707, launched in 1985, re-entered the atmosphere on September 17 after spending over 40 years in space.
SpaceX dominated the global statistics for the month, with Starlink satellites representing 59.7% of all deorbited objects. These units were primarily from batches launched between 2019 and 2025. Other notable deorbiting events included the European Cluster Tango and the American PANSAT-Oscar-34.
