Informationsblad om satellitblänk och felaktiga UAP-rapporter

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All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) 
 
1 
 
An AARO Information Paper 
Correlations of Starlink
1
 Satellite Flaring with UAP 
Observations 
 
December 2024 
Introduction 
With the advent of satellite communication mega-constellations including the SpaceX Starlink, 
Eutelsat OneWeb, Amazon Kuiper, and Chinese G60 constellations, there are currently thousands 
of artificial satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO)
2
 and tens of thousands more planned for launch 
over the next decade [1]. Satellite flaring is an optical phenomenon which occurs when sunlight 
reflects off a satellite's surfaces, such as antennas or solar panels. This paper discusses specular 
and diffuse reflection of sunlight from man-made satellites and how these effects can be interpreted 
as unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP). It also provides a method for observers to determine 
whether observations may be attributable to satellite flaring. 
Background 
Using reflected sunlight from man-made satellites to observe and track their movement goes back 
to the earliest days of space exploration [2]. As noted above, several companies develop and launch 
mega-constellations, providing internet access to most of the globe. Currently, there are nearly 
10,000 artificial satellites in LEO and this number is expected to grow several-fold over the next 
decade [1]. Figure 1 illustrates the location of Starlink satellites in orbit as of December 2, 2024, 
at 11:00 AM Eastern Standard Time. As of the end of November 2024, there were over 6,700 
Starlink satellites in orbit. 
Figure 2 illustrates the concepts of diffuse and specular reflections, which describe how light 
bounces off objects. Figure 3 shows how sunlight reflected in these two ways is directed toward 
an observer on the surface of the Earth. As seen in the left side of Figure 2, diffuse reflection occurs 
when light reflects from a rough or irregular surface. Light impinging upon a rough surface reflects 
in many directions, which spreads the light over a large range of angles from the reflecting surface, 
as illustrated by the gray colored "light cone” in the Figure 3(a). From a single observation point, 
this cone of light can be visible for up to several minutes as the satellite moves in its orbit across 
the sky. Additionally, the intensity of reflected light significantly decreases the further away the 
observer is from the reflecting surface. At the Earth’s surface, the intensity of diffusely reflected 
light from a satellite in LEO will typically have diminished to the point that the brightness is 
 
1
 Any reference to a non-federal entity is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an express or implied 
endorsement of any commercial service, from AARO, the Department of Defense, or the Executive Branch. This 
report focuses on Starlink satellites, but its principles are applicable for any analogous satellite constellation. 
2
 Altitude for Low Earth Orbit (LEO) ranges from 300km to 2,000km. 

All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) 
 
2 
 
comparable to starlight. Due to their construction and orientation, many man-made satellites in 
LEO diffusely reflect sunlight and can appear as stars that move across the night sky. 
 
Figure 1: Graphic of Starlink satellites in orbit. Ref: https://www.heavens-
above.com/StarLink.aspx 
 
Specular reflection, also known as glint, occurs from a very smooth, mirror-like surface as 
illustrated on the right side of Figure 2. Unlike diffusely reflec