Collision alerts jumped and re-entry events ticked up in October, according to the UK Space Agency’s monthly update released on 14 November 2025. Officials stressed overall risk remained below the 12‑month average and confirmed, "All NSpOC warning and protection services were functioning throughout the period." For Northern firms building kit or relying on satellite data, the message is simple: the traffic overhead is getting busier again.

Collision risk to UK‑licensed satellites rose 56% on September, driven by more interactions with other spacecraft and debris. Close‑approach alerts climbed from 1,537 in September to 2,398 in October. Re‑entries also rose 15% month on month: 54 objects came down, 52 satellites and two rocket bodies.

Orbit remains crowded. The US Satellite Catalogue logged 31,676 resident space objects in October, up by 160 on September. No fresh fragmentation events were reported, and space weather was slightly elevated with geomagnetic storms recorded throughout the month.

This matters on the ground in the North. Satellite links support offshore wind in the North Sea, traffic management on the M62 corridor, and digital mapping for flood work along the Ouse and Tyne. When alerts spike, control rooms adjust: power budgets get reworked, manoeuvres pencilled in, schedules tightened.

At NETPark in Sedgefield, the North East Satellite Applications Centre of Excellence has spent the past decade helping manufacturers, utilities and councils turn satellite data into daily tools-from monitoring assets to planning flood response-making steady, reliable services a regional priority.

In Northumberland, NORSS-now part of Raytheon UK-specialises in tracking what’s up there and runs a low‑Earth‑orbit camera installation at Kielder. It’s the kind of home‑grown capability that becomes even more valuable when conjunction alerts start stacking up.

Across Yorkshire and the Humber, Space Hub Yorkshire and the newer Space Humber cluster are knitting together the supply chain-from data analytics in Leeds to start‑ups at C4DI in Hull-so more local firms can win work in satellite services and applications.

October’s 2,398 collision alerts were the highest monthly figure since April, after a quieter summer that bottomed out in August. With no new break‑ups logged, vigilance rather than alarm is the mood, but operations teams will factor the busier skies into manoeuvre planning and scheduling.

For Northern operators, the takeaway is practical: keep tuning conjunction screening thresholds, review de‑orbit timelines against current solar activity, and speak early to insurers if manoeuvre budgets look tight. If your business depends on GNSS timing-from cold‑storage to EV charging-double‑check resilience plans in case geomagnetic conditions flare again.

The Northern Ledger will continue to track the monthly figures and speak to operators from Alnwick to Salford Quays about what they’re seeing in their telemetry. Readers working in the Northern space supply chain can share what October’s alerts meant for their teams via the usual channels.