Space Junk Crisis: Earth’s Orbit Turning into a Dangerous Debris Field

Sherazur Rahman#

In today’s age of advanced space exploration and satellite technology, one of the biggest challenges we face is not launching satellites — but cleaning up the ones we’ve already left behind. The Earth’s orbit is increasingly becoming crowded with defunct satellites, abandoned rocket parts, metal fragments, and tiny high-speed particles collectively known as space junk or orbital debris. This growing threat endangers operational satellites, crewed spacecraft, and even the International Space Station (ISS).
What Is Space Junk?
Space junk refers to all the man-made debris orbiting Earth that no longer serves a useful function. This includes retired satellites, spent rocket stages, discarded equipment, and fragments created by collisions or explosions. Their sizes vary from defunct 10-meter-long satellites to microscopic metallic particles as small as 1 millimeter — yet even the smallest debris can travel at speeds up to 28,000 km/h, enough to destroy an active satellite on impact.
How Much Junk Is Out There?
According to the European Space Agency (ESA) in 2025, over 128 million pieces of space debris are currently orbiting the Earth. These include:
Over 36,500 objects larger than 10 cm
Nearly 1 million medium-sized pieces (1–10 cm)
More than 120 million tiny fragments smaller than 1 cm
These numbers are rising rapidly, posing serious risks to future space missions.
The Source of the Junk:
Since the launch of Sputnik-1 by the Soviet Union in 1957, over 14,900 satellites have been sent into orbit. As of May 2025, more than 11,700 remain active, while thousands have become inactive or damaged — turning into space debris.
Much of the junk is created through satellite malfunctions, collisions, explosions, and leftover parts from launch vehicles. These fragments continue to orbit Earth, multiplying in number with each new space mission.
SpaceX’s Growing Footprint:
According to Live Science, as of May 2025, SpaceX’s Starlink program alone accounts for over 7,400 active satellites — around 60% of all operational satellites today. Other major contributors include China, India, Russia, and the European Union, with most of these satellites located in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), up to 2,000 km above the surface.
Why Space Junk Is a Dire Threat?
Because these fragments move at hypersonic speeds, even a 1 mm particle can puncture vital spacecraft systems. In 2013, a collision between Russia’s Cosmos satellite and America’s Iridium satellite generated hundreds of new debris pieces. In 2016, a tiny 1 mm object caused a visible crack in an ISS window — a terrifying wake-up call.
To avoid such incidents, the ISS now has to adjust its orbit 20–25 times per year, consuming fuel and adding pressure to mission planning.
The Satellite Graveyard: Point Nemo!
When satellites reach the end of their life, some are deliberately deorbited to crash into a remote area of the Pacific Ocean called Point Nemo, known as the “spacecraft cemetery.” NASA reports that hundreds of defunct satellites and space stations have been disposed of here. However, this controlled reentry is only possible for functioning systems — most debris simply continues to float in space, out of control.
The Kessler Syndrome: A Potential Orbital Chain Reaction:
Scientists have long warned about the risk of a Kessler Syndrome — a scenario where one collision causes a cascade of further collisions, creating so much debris that Earth’s orbit becomes virtually unusable. This could cripple GPS systems, weather forecasting, satellite communication, and future space exploration.
What’s Being Done?
Fortunately, efforts are underway. Several countries and space agencies are actively researching debris removal systems:
ESA’s ClearSpace-1 mission plans to remove a piece of debris in 2026 using a robotic arm.
China is developing satellite-mounted nets and robotic arms for debris capture.
Japan, India, and the U.S. are also investing in next-gen orbital cleanup technologies.
Final Thoughts:
Space may be vast, but Earth’s orbital paths are getting dangerously crowded. Without immediate international cooperation, stronger policies, and innovative technologies, we risk turning our planet’s orbit into an inaccessible junkyard.
If left unaddressed, launching satellites in the future may become not only more expensive but also extremely hazardous.
Sources:
Live Science, Space.com, ESA Space Debris Office (2024), NASA Orbital Debris Program Office (2025), Wikipedia.