ESA alerts: Regions of Earth orbit may become “unusable”

“ While the probability of an accident remains low when compared to the many daily risks, the growing trend reflects the cumulative effect of more launches, more satellites and more re-entrys”, refers to the ESA report of 2026 on space environment.

According to ESA, risk reduction can be achieved through a larger number of controlled re-entrys of objects into the Earth's atmosphere and by the broader adoption of technologies that allow satellites to be destroyed as much as possible during re-entry into the atmosphere.

The report, which contains data from 2025, also warns of growing insecurity and possible destruction of certain regions of earth orbit due to the increase of space waste caused by collision and fragmentation of objects in orbit.

According to ESA, even if new satellites are not launched in theory, the amount of debris in space “will continue to increase” because “fragmentation events generate debris faster” than their “natural re-entry into the Earth atmosphere”.

“ Over time, this can make some orbital regions increasingly unsafe and potentially unusable,” ESA warns, considering that “the biggest long-term threat” is not only the placing into orbit of more and more objects, but also the “self-sustaining cycle of collisions” of debris that “creates fragments that trigger new collisions.”.

For ESA, it will be important to prevent the formation of more space waste (such as remains of rockets or satellites) through good practices and measures to manage space traffic and eliminate end-of-life objects, but also to ensure orbit removal of debris.

The report stresses that space activities “continue to grow at a remarkable pace”, with over 300 launches being made last year that allowed the orbit of more than 4,000 objects, including large satellite constellations, which are expanding at various altitudes.

In the document, ESA also highlights that for every ten objects that were sent to space daily in 2025, three returned intact to the Earth's atmosphere, translating "a positive change towards shorter orbital life times".