Over 23 000 objects larger than 5-10 cm are orbiting Earth.They result from about 4900 launches conducted since the start of the space age.The majority of the catalogued objects originate from in-orbit break-ups - more than 240 explosions - as well as fewer than 10 known collisions.This week at ESA's European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany, the 6th European Conference on Space Debris is taking place providing a forum for the space community which is now trying to develop solutions to cope with this growing concern.