· x report · 4 min read
Starlink Forces Historic AT&T/Verizon/T-Mobile Alliance | KeepTrack X Report
Starlink's D2D threat unites all three major U.S. carriers for the first time, while Dragon delivers 6,500 lbs to ISS on May 17.
Latest Developments
In an unprecedented move driven directly by Starlink’s expanding direct-to-device ambitions, AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile have united in a formal competitive front — the first time all three U.S. wireless giants have aligned against a common threat. The alliance underscores how SpaceX’s growing constellation of 10,354 operational satellites is reshaping the global telecommunications landscape from orbit. Meanwhile, SpaceX logged a successful logistics win closer to home as a Dragon cargo spacecraft berthed at the International Space Station on May 17, delivering 6,500 pounds of science payloads and crew supplies. Together, the two stories highlight SpaceX’s dual role as both infrastructure provider and market disruptor across the aerospace and telecom sectors.
Space Safety
The current Starlink conjunction threat picture shows 10 tracked events across early-to-mid April 2026, with four MODERATE-risk conjunctions but no HIGH-risk events currently identified. The most significant conjunction involves STARLINK-33563 with COSMOS 2251 DEB on Apr 13, 2026 at 21:44 UTC, presenting a collision probability of 0.3973 and minimum range of only 0.012 km. Concurrent with conjunction activity, three Starlink satellites are predicted to reenter Earth’s atmosphere between May 17-19, 2026, with reentry windows ranging from 1,380 to 2,880 minutes, representing manageable but monitored disposal events.
| Risk | Starlink Sat | Other Object | Status | Min Range (km) | Rel Speed (km/s) | Max Prob | Time of Closest Approach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MODERATE | STARLINK-33563 | COSMOS 2251 DEB | Non-operational | 0.012 | 11.318 | 0.3973 | Apr 13, 21:44 UTC |
| MODERATE | STARLINK-5601 | DELTA 1 DEB | Non-operational | 0.014 | 8.499 | 0.3479 | Apr 11, 06:26 UTC |
| MODERATE | STARLINK-33680 | FLOCK 4G-17 | Operational | 0.024 | 12.627 | 0.1287 | Apr 9, 13:55 UTC |
| MODERATE | STARLINK-35339 | THEA | Operational | 0.022 | 14.11 | 0.1272 | Apr 11, 01:33 UTC |
| LOW | STARLINK-32841 | YAOGAN-43 01D | Operational | 0.038 | 9.497 | 0.0672 | Apr 11, 14:30 UTC |
| LOW | STARLINK-36431 | WT 1B | Unknown | 0.052 | 1.153 | 0.04499 | Apr 14, 13:45 UTC |
| LOW | STARLINK-32376 | OBJECT AD | Operational | 0.046 | 11.243 | 0.04409 | Apr 12, 08:38 UTC |
| LOW | STARLINK-30245 | SL-19 R/B | Non-operational | 0.037 | 14.371 | 0.04406 | Apr 7, 16:55 UTC |
| LOW | STARLINK-35657 | ION SCV-008 | Operational | 0.041 | 13.969 | 0.03903 | Apr 12, 19:09 UTC |
| LOW | STARLINK-31383 | TEVEL2-7 | Operational | 0.038 | 14.746 | 0.03837 | Apr 8, 19:55 UTC |
| Satellite | NORAD ID | Predicted Decay | Window (min) | Inclination | Lat | Lon |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STARLINK-1733 | 46564 | May 17, 22:13 UTC | 1,380 | 53.0° | 52.9° | 350° |
| STARLINK-5369 | 54837 | May 18, 22:31 UTC | 2,880 | 43.0° | 28.2° | 263.2° |
| STARLINK-34671 | 65033 | May 19, 06:43 UTC | 1,440 | 53.2° | -27.6° | 313.1° |
Detailed Coverage
Starlink’s D2D Push Forces Historic Three-Carrier Alliance Against SpaceX
For the first time in U.S. telecommunications history, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon have set aside their fierce competition to form a coordinated response — and the catalyst is SpaceX’s Starlink direct-to-device service. The three carriers, who collectively dominate the American wireless market, see Starlink’s satellite-native connectivity as an existential challenge to their ground-based infrastructure investments, particularly in rural and underserved coverage zones where D2D satellite links can outcompete cell towers entirely.
The alliance signals a critical inflection point for the satellite broadband industry. With over 10,354 Starlink satellites currently operational out of 11,979 launched, SpaceX now commands a constellation scale that no terrestrial carrier can replicate or easily lobby against. Industry analysts note that the carriers’ joint lobbying and technical standardization efforts may attempt to shape FCC spectrum rules around D2D access, but the sheer orbital momentum SpaceX has built makes any regulatory slowdown a delaying tactic at best. Satellite trackers monitoring Starlink shell density note the constellation’s coverage continuity is now sufficient to sustain persistent D2D links across most of the continental United States.
Read the full story: Teslarati
Dragon CRS Mission Delivers 6,500 Pounds of Science and Supplies to ISS
A SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft successfully berthed with the International Space Station on Sunday, May 17, 2026, delivering approximately 6,500 pounds of science experiments, crew provisions, and hardware. The rendezvous proceeded nominally, continuing SpaceX’s unbroken record of reliable cargo delivery under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services contract — a program that has made Dragon the backbone of ISS logistics operations for over a decade.
The science manifest aboard this mission is expected to support a range of microgravity research programs currently active on the station. Dragon’s pressurized and unpressurized cargo capacity makes it uniquely suited for the mix of crew consumables and experimental hardware required by long-duration ISS expeditions. With SpaceX managing both crewed and cargo Dragon flights simultaneously alongside its Starlink launch cadence, the successful delivery reinforces the company’s operational tempo across multiple mission classes.
Read the full story: Space.com
Constellation Status
There have been no changes to the Starlink constellation since the last check. The constellation continues to maintain 11,979 total launched satellites, with 10,370 currently in orbit, 10,354 of which are working properly, while 1,609 have decayed from orbit.
- Total Launched: 11979
- Total On Orbit: 10370
- Total Working: 10354
Track Starlink satellites in real-time: Track Starlink
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