According to a new report by the European Space Agency (ESA), the growing threat of human-made debris in orbit worsened significantly in 2024. The number of tracked space debris objects rose by approximately 8% last year, reaching around 40,000, with countless smaller fragments still capable of damaging satellites or spacecraft.

The report highlights a particularly alarming incident in August: a Chinese Long March 6A rocket exploded, generating one of the largest clouds of orbital debris in decades. Events like this and lingering pieces of defunct rockets, satellites, and other hardware have created a hazardous environment for satellite operators such as SpaceX’s Starlink and Eutelsat Communications’ OneWeb, which deliver the internet from low-Earth orbit.

“The amount of space debris in orbit continues to rise quickly,” ESA warned, citing “several major fragmentation events” in 2024 that contributed to the accelerating clutter.

With more companies—including Amazon.com Inc., Telesat Corp., and various state-owned Chinese enterprises—racing to build satellite constellations, regulators in Europe and the U.S. have tightened rules. 

One key mandate now requires satellite operators to deorbit unused satellites within five years to reduce long-term collision risks in an increasingly crowded orbital neighbourhood.

The European Space Agency (ESA) has achieved notable success rates with its primary launch vehicles over the years: Vega

Operational Period: 2012–2024

Total Launches: 22

Successes: 20

Failures: 2

Success Rate: Approximately 90.9%

Vega was designed for small payloads, primarily for scientific and Earth observation missions.
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NASA has utilized various launch vehicles over the decades, each with its success rate. Here's an overview of some of the primary rockets:

Atlas V

Operational Period: 2002–Present

Total Launches: 100 (as of June 2024)

Success Rate: 100% mission success; 99% vehicle success

Note: In June 2007, the Atlas V experienced an anomaly when the Centaur upper stage shut down early, leading to a lower-than-intended orbit. However, the mission was still deemed successful.
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Russia has developed and operated several prominent launch vehicles over the decades, each with varying success rates.

Soyuz-2

Operational Period: 2004–Present

Total Launches: 148

Successes: 143

Failures: 4

Partial Failures: 1

Success Rate: Approximately 97.0%
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China's space program has developed a series of launch vehicles, notably the Long March (Chang Zheng) rocket family, which has demonstrated a high success rate over the decades:

Long March 5

Operational Period: 2016–Present

Total Launches: 13 (as of December 16, 2024)

Successes: 12

Failures: 1

Success Rate: Approximately 92.3%

Note: The Long March 5 is China's heavy-lift launch vehicle, supporting missions such as lunar exploration and space station assembly.