In almost 50 years of space activities, more than 4800 launches have placed some 6000 satellites into orbit, of which only a minor fraction - about 800 - are still operational today. Only 6 percent of the catalogued orbit population are operational spacecraft, while 38 percent can be attributed to decommissioned satellites, spent upper stages and mission-related objects (launch adaptors, lens covers, etc.).
The remaining 56 percent originates from more than 200 in-orbit fragmentations which have been recorded since 1961. Except for a few collisions (less than 10 accidental and intentional events), the majority of the 200 break-ups were explosions of spacecraft and upper stages.
Note: Images in this gallery are artist's impressions; size of debris objects are exaggerated as compared to the Earth.
70% of all catalogued objects are in low-Earth orbit (LEO), which extends to 2000 km above the Earth's surface. To observe the Earth, spacecraft must orbit at such a low altitude. The spatial density of objects increases at high latitudes. Note: The debris objects shown in the images are an artist's impression based on actual density data. However, the debris objects are shown at an exaggerated size to make them visible at the scale shown.
