Space Debris: Is it a Crisis?
The European Space Agency’s short documentary film ‘Space Debris: Is it a Crisis?’ on the state of space debris premiered at the 9th European Conference on Space Debris on 1 Apr 2025.
Earth is surrounded by thousands of satellites carrying out important work to provide telecommunications and navigation services, help us understand our climate, and answer fundamental questions about the Universe.
However, as our use of space accelerates like never before, these satellites find themselves navigating increasingly congested orbits in an environment criss-crossed by streams of fast-moving debris fragments resulting from collisions, fragmentations and breakups in space.
Each fragment can damage additional satellites, with fears that a cascade of collisions may eventually render some orbits around Earth no longer useable. Additionally, the extent of the harm of the drastic increase in launches and number of objects re-entering our atmosphere and oceans is not yet known.
So, does space debris already represent a crisis?
The documentary explores the current situation in Earth’s orbits and explains the threat space debris poses to our future in space. It also outlines what might be done about space debris and how we might reach true sustainability in space, because our actions today will have consequences for generations to come.
ESA’s Space Safety Programme
ESA’s Space Safety Programme aims to safeguard the future of spaceflight and to keep us, Earth and our infrastructure on the ground and in space safe from hazards originating in space.
From asteroids and solar storms to the human-made problem of space debris, ESA works on missions and projects to understand the dangers and mitigate them.
In the longer term, to ensure a safe and sustainable future in space, ESA aims to establish a circular economy in space. To get there, the Agency is working on the technology development necessary to make in-orbit servicing and zero-debris spacecraft a reality.
Watch this video in different languages:
• French: https://youtu.be/_LX3YNC4eV8
• German: https://youtu.be/-XaAdDuIHAs
• Italian: https://youtu.be/gYgNcA9p8Xw
• Spanish: https://youtu.be/TF341RTj05I
Credit: ESA – European Space Agency
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I'm hopeful about the prospect of air breathing engines in very low earth orbit. I hope to see it become used by satellites in the future. very low earth orbit has enough atmosphere that there is enough air resistance that anything not being propelled will quickly fall to earth, smaller shrapnel is much more greatly effected by this air resistance and will fall to earth much faster. because of this, and as mentioned in this video, this orbit is known as self clearing. air breathing engines, in particular air breathing ion engines can take in this thin atmosphere and use it as propellant, when supplied by power, they can run indefinitely. very low earth orbit would and does not work will all types of satellites, but it could work with many, especially satellite reception constellations, which make up the majority of satellites.
What needs to happen, a collision involving a manned spacecraft, before anything is done to combat this? Just like the junk that's thrown away into the environment here on earth is it a case of 'out of sight, out of mind'?