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    ESA > Our Activities > Technology

    The Kessler Effect and how to stop it

    Debris objects in low-Earth orbit (LEO)

    NASA space debris expert Don Kessler observed that, once past a certain critical mass, the total amount of space debris will keep on increasing: collisions give rise to more debris and lead to more collisions, in a chain reaction. So Clean Space is seeking not just to cut debris production from future ESA missions but to reduce the total mass of current debris, such as the robotic salvage of derelict satellites. The task is an urgent one: debris levels have increased 50% in the last five years in low orbit.

    Last update: 13 November 2012

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