The satellite re-entry register
Earth orbit, on the record.
The permanent public record of every human-made object whose flight has ended: 35,589 entries, from the first rocket stage to fall back in 1957 to this year’s re-entries. Every entry has a permanent number, made to be cited.
Re-entered satellites: every entry
Each flight that has ended, with its permanent entry number. Filter on the left, sort by any column, and select a row to open its certificate.
Milestones in the register
Facts drawn from 35,589 entries across seven decades.
Sputnik 1’s rocket stage
The core stage that carried Sputnik 1 into orbit fell back on 1 December 1957, a month before the satellite itself (1958-0001).
Luna 2
Luna 2 impacted the Moon on 13 September 1959, the first entry to end its flight on another world.
Sputnik 5
Sputnik 5 landed on 20 August 1960 with the dogs Belka and Strelka aboard, the first entry recorded as landed.
Luna 3
Luna 3, which sent back the first pictures of the Moon’s far side, came back to Earth and re-entered in April 1960.
Hitch Hiker 1
Launched on 27 June 1963, it re-entered on 13 August 2024: 61 years, 1 month in orbit, the longest before re-entry of any entry.
Entries in 2022
The four busiest years on record are 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025. The next busiest, 1989, had 1,066.
The latest entries
Objects that came down this year are on record already, marked certificate pending until their entry numbers are issued. Latest entry: 21 Sep 2026.
Every ending, recorded
Most flights end in Earth’s atmosphere. Some land, some end on other worlds, and a few come home from deep space.
Came back through Earth’s atmosphere, by natural decay or a controlled deorbit.
1,364LandedCrew capsules, return capsules, Space Shuttle missions and satellites brought home.
98Ended on another worldLanders, impactors and probes whose flights ended on the Moon, planets and an asteroid.
26Returned from deep spaceApollo command modules, sample-return capsules and Orion.
7Destroyed in orbitFlights that ended in orbit, on the day they were destroyed.
Where the fragments came from
22,694 fragments are on record, each grouped with the object it came from.
Cite the register
How to cite
Cite the register as a whole, or any entry by its number. Entry numbers are permanent.
For a single entry: “Orbital Register entry no. 2001-0089”, with its page address.
Standards of the Register
- 01An entry records an ending. An object is entered when the record shows its flight has ended, and not before.
- 02Dates are UTC calendar days. Where records disagree, both dates are shown.
- 03Numbers are permanent. Each is the year the flight ended and a sequence number. Once given, a number never changes and is never reused.
- 04Corrections are public. Any change to an entry is published with the entry it changes.
About the register
How many satellites have re-entered Earth’s atmosphere?
The Orbital Register holds 35,589 entries for human-made objects whose flights have ended since 1957: 8,113 spacecraft, 4,478 rocket bodies, 22,694 fragments and 304 unidentified objects. 34,094 came back through Earth’s atmosphere, 1,364 landed and 98 ended on another world.
How many satellites have crashed to Earth?
Very few crash in the way the word suggests. Of the 35,589 objects in the Orbital Register, most burned up as they re-entered the atmosphere, often over the ocean, and 1,364 landed on purpose, like crew capsules and return capsules. The register counts 8,113 spacecraft among its entries; larger objects can drop surviving pieces, which is why big re-entries are tracked closely.
What was the first human-made object to fall back from orbit?
The core stage of the rocket that launched Sputnik 1. It is entry no. 1957-0001 and re-entered on 1 December 1957. Sputnik 1 itself followed on 3 January 1958 as entry no. 1958-0001.
Which year had the most re-entries?
2022, with 2,497 entries. The four busiest years on record are 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.
What does an Orbital Register entry number mean?
Each entry number is the year the flight ended followed by a sequence number, so 2001-0089 is the 89th entry for 2001. Numbers are permanent and never reused, so an entry number can be cited like a document reference.
Does anything come back from beyond Earth orbit?
Yes. 26 entries returned from deep space, including Apollo command modules and sample-return capsules, and 98 ended on another world, such as Luna 2 on the Moon and Cassini in Saturn’s atmosphere.