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.
