SpaceX Starlink satellites seen as ‘wonky streaks’ by ISS astronaut (photos)

long streaks of light above earth with little white flashes visible in a timelapse photo — NASA astronaut Don Pettit captured SpaceX Starlink satellites below the International Space Station on November 2024, visible as white flashes in this timelapse photo. The streaks are city lights. (Image credit: NASA/Don Pettit)

A veteran NASA astronaut caught SpaceX satellites in action from the space station.

NASA astronaut Don Pettit snapped shots of some SpaceX Starlink satellites from the International Space Station (ISS) recently, capturing them as bright white flashes in his timelapse photography. Pettit said on X, formerly Twitter, that these flashes are only visible from space and are not directed at Earth.

Pettit, on his fourth trip to space, called the Starlinks "strikingly bright from orbit," but noted that the flashes that he saw are not directed at Earth.

There are more than 6,600 active Starlinks in low Earth orbit at various altitudes and inclinations. Each satellite has a lifespan of about five years, and SpaceX eventually hopes to have as many as 42,000 of the spacecraft aloft eventually.

Astronomers have voiced concern about the brightness of the satellites in the Starlink megaconstellation. SpaceX has taken steps to dim them, including changes to their orientation and coating, but the worries persist.

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Pettit added in his X post that the Starlinks were only visible in certain conditions from the ISS, as "wonky streaks" of light.

"This time exposure shows wonky streaks flashing ISS. These are Starlink satellites reflecting pre-dusk or pre-dawn sunlight off their solar panels," he said. "They are only seen from 5 to 18 degrees preceding or trailing the sun.'"

Elizabeth Howell (she/her), Ph.D., was a staff writer in the spaceflight channel between 2022 and 2024 specializing in Canadian space news. She was contributing writer for Space.com for 10 years from 2012 to 2024. Elizabeth's reporting includes multiple exclusives with the White House, leading world coverage about a lost-and-found space tomato on the International Space Station, witnessing five human spaceflight launches on two continents, flying parabolic, working inside a spacesuit, and participating in a simulated Mars mission. Her latest book, "Why Am I Taller?" (ECW Press, 2022) is co-written with astronaut Dave Williams.