ESA report on space debris: increasingly crowded orbits and worsening sustainability

On average, every day, more than three intact satellites or rocket bodies re-enter the Earth's atmosphere. And, at the same time, ten new payloads are launched every day. “In 2025, the long-term impact of our space activities has worsened by an order of magnitude in just one year.”

This is underlined in the annual report on the space environment (Space Environment Report) that the ESA Space Debris Office has been publishing since 2017 to «offer a transparent overview of global space activities and evaluate the effectiveness of international debris reduction measures in improving the long-term sustainability of space activities».

According to what emerges from the study, some orbits "are becoming saturated and are increasingly crowded with fragments".

The report also contains data on past and ongoing activities with the exclusion of projects still in the preparation phase for launch.

In the summary of the 2026 report, based on data collected at the end of 2025, it is highlighted that "the number and size of commercial satellite constellations continue to increase year on year".