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2 Starshield Sats Fly on Rare Public Mission | KeepTrack X Report
SpaceX publicly confirmed 2 Starshield government satellites launched from Vandenberg on June 6, a rare disclosure for the classified Starlink variant.
Latest Developments
In a rare public acknowledgment, SpaceX launched two Starshield satellites alongside a standard Starlink batch from Vandenberg Space Force Base’s pad 4E at 9:24:45 p.m. PDT on Saturday, June 6. Starshield is SpaceX’s government-focused variant of Starlink, typically shrouded in classification, making this disclosure a notable departure from standard operational security practices. The mission adds to a constellation that now stands at 12,191 satellites launched, with 10,555 in orbit and 10,539 actively working. The dual-purpose flight underscores the deepening integration of commercial launch infrastructure with national security space objectives.
Space Safety
The current Starlink conjunction threat picture shows seven MODERATE risk events concentrated in early June 2026, with no HIGH risk conjunctions currently identified. The highest-risk event involves STARLINK-6258 and STARLINK-30487 at 0.022 km minimum range with a 41.84% collision probability on Jun 6, 06:40 UTC. Meanwhile, reentry predictions indicate two Starlink satellites approaching end-of-life, with decay windows of 14-17 hours each providing moderate uncertainty in ground impact location prediction.
| Risk | Starlink Sat | Other Object | Status | Min Range (km) | Rel Speed (km/s) | Max Prob | Time of Closest Approach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MODERATE | STARLINK-6258 | STARLINK-30487 | Partially Operational | 0.022 | 9.82 | 0.4184 | Sat, 06 Jun 2026 06:40:27 UTC |
| MODERATE | STARLINK-33999 | LEMUR-2-FURIAUS | Operational | 0.013 | 8.137 | 0.3838 | Sat, 06 Jun 2026 09:26:04 UTC |
| MODERATE | STARLINK-1168 | STARLINK-35164 | Operational | 0.026 | 1.383 | 0.3482 | Sat, 06 Jun 2026 04:56:05 UTC |
| MODERATE | STARLINK-3352 | STARLINK-32700 | Operational | 0.033 | 10.43 | 0.2275 | Wed, 03 Jun 2026 02:07:36 UTC |
| MODERATE | STARLINK-3124 | CZ-4B DEB | Non-operational | 0.028 | 6.004 | 0.127 | Wed, 03 Jun 2026 17:10:03 UTC |
| MODERATE | STARLINK-31972 | IRIS-F3 | Operational | 0.029 | 7.854 | 0.1181 | Thu, 04 Jun 2026 09:53:29 UTC |
| MODERATE | STARLINK-35328 | CZ-6A R/B | Non-operational | 0.021 | 14.86 | 0.1181 | Thu, 04 Jun 2026 19:04:05 UTC |
| LOW | STARLINK-34172 | OBJECT C | Operational | 0.024 | 14.721 | 0.09041 | Fri, 05 Jun 2026 05:35:36 UTC |
| LOW | STARLINK-31808 | SL-4 DEB | Non-operational | 0.030 | 12.955 | 0.08134 | Tue, 02 Jun 2026 12:01:26 UTC |
| LOW | STARLINK-37441 | HAWK-13C | Operational | 0.040 | 2.006 | 0.07178 | Wed, 03 Jun 2026 15:23:35 UTC |
| Satellite | NORAD ID | Predicted Decay | Window (min) | Inclination | Lat | Lon |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STARLINK-3729 | 52135 | Jun 6, 21:13 UTC | 840 | 53.2° | -51.2° | 43.6° |
| STARLINK-1795 | 46696 | Jun 8, 12:44 UTC | 1020 | 53.0° | 50.8° | 65.1° |
Detailed Coverage
SpaceX Breaks Cover on Starshield: 2 Government Satellites Ride Saturday Night Starlink Mission
In what observers are calling an unusually transparent move, SpaceX publicly confirmed the co-manifest of two Starshield satellites on a Starlink rideshare mission launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base pad 4E. Liftoff occurred at 9:24:45 p.m. PDT on June 6 (0424:45 UTC, June 7), with the Falcon 9 carrying the mixed payload to a low Earth orbit optimized for the government payloads.
Starshield satellites are a hardened, government-exclusive derivative of the standard Starlink bus, designed to support U.S. military and intelligence community communications with additional security and inter-satellite link capabilities. Their launches are typically unacknowledged or obscured within broader manifests, making this public announcement significant for transparency in national security space launches. Satellite trackers will be watching closely to see whether the Starshield payloads maneuver independently and can be catalogued separately from the accompanying Starlink batch.
Read the full story: Spaceflight Now
Constellation Status
The Starlink constellation remains stable with no changes since the last check. As of June 5, 2026, SpaceX has launched a total of 12,191 satellites, with 10,555 currently in orbit and 10,539 actively working. The constellation has experienced 1,636 satellite decays to date.
- Total Launched: 12191
- Total On Orbit: 10555
- Total Working: 10539
Track Starlink satellites in real-time: Track Starlink
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