NSpOC Monthly Report: December 2025 Space Operations
Summary
The National Space Operations Centre issued its December 2025 monthly report covering space domain awareness activities. The report documented 52 uncontrolled re-entries (21% increase from November), a 7% rise in collision alerts for UK-licensed satellites (2,643 interactions), and a net addition of 383 objects to the US Satellite Catalogue bringing the total to 32,687. One fragmentation incident occurred in Low Earth Orbit. Space weather activity was lower with no solar radiation storms.
What changed
The National Space Operations Centre published its monthly space operations report for December 2025, providing statistical data on re-entry events, collision avoidance alerts, orbital population changes, and space weather conditions. The report shows increased activity compared to November with 52 re-entries and 2,643 collision risk interactions tracked. One fragmentation event involving a LEO satellite is under assessment.
For satellite operators holding UK licenses, the 7% increase in collision alerts indicates heightened operational vigilance may be warranted. The growing orbital population (now over 32,600 tracked objects) underscores the importance of continuous monitoring for all space actors. This report is informational and does not impose new regulatory obligations.
What to do next
- Monitor for updates
Archived snapshot
Apr 16, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
News story
How we protected the UK and space in December 2025
This report was issued in January 2026 and covers the time period 1 December 2025 to 31 December 2025 inclusive.
From: National Space Operations Centre, Ministry of Defence, Met Office and UK Space Agency Published 26 January 2026
The National Space Operations Centre is led by the UK Space Agency and UK Space Command in partnership with the Met Office.
December saw sustained levels of space activity with uncontrolled re-entries and collision alerts higher than in November, but with lower space weather activity impacting infrastructure.
All NSpOC warning and protection services were functioning throughout the period.
Re-entry analysis
December saw a 21% increase in the number of objects re-entering Earth’s atmosphere, monitored by NSpOC, when compared with the previous month.
Of the 52 objects that re-entered, 39 were satellites, 11 were rocket bodies and two were likely pieces of debris.
January: 115, February: 129, March: 85, April: 92, May: 64, June: 55, July: 52, August: 34, September: 39, October: 54, November: 43, December: 52
Collision avoidance analysis
Collision risks to UK-licensed satellites were slightly higher in December with a 7% increase when compared with November, caused by more interactions between UK-licensed objects and other spacecraft or debris over the previous 30 days.
January: 2,694, February: 2,567, March: 2,588, April: 2,620, May: 1,546, June: 1,259, July: 1,038, August: 971, September: 1,537, October: 2,402, November: 2,472, December: 2,643
Registered Space Objects (RSOs) analysis
The in-orbit population increased in December, with a net addition of 383 objects to the US Satellite Catalogue.
January: 30,057, February: 30,087, March: 30,181, April: 30,309, May: 30,558, June: 30,882, July: 31,091, August: 31,344, September, 31,634, October: 31,928, November: 32,304, December: 32,687
The number of Resident Space Objects (RSOs) reported may be subject to small adjustments over time as the way objects are tracked is refined. Figures in this report reflect the most current available data and may differ slightly from those published in previous months.
Fragmentation analysis
One fragmentation incident took place in December involving a satellite in Low Earth Orbit. Assessments are ongoing to understand how many pieces of debris were released into orbit.
Space weather analysis
A reduction in space weather activity was observed during the month of December with fewer geomagnetic storms and solar flares and no solar radiation storms registered throughout the month.
Comments
The National Space Operations Centre combines and coordinates UK civil and military space domain awareness capabilities to enable operations, promote prosperity and protect UK interests in space and on Earth from space-related threats, risks and hazards.
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