ESA Space Environment Report 2026
Space activities continue to grow at a remarkable pace. In 2025, more than 300 launches took place with over 4000 new payloads put into orbit. Large constellations and the growing ...
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The problem of space debris is all too human. Space debris are all non-functional, human-made objects, including no longer functioning spacecraft or fragments of them, in orbit or re-entering Earth's atmosphere. If current behaviours and trends in orbit continue, crucial orbital regions will become entirely unusable, with many millions of debris pieces already swirling around.
As certain orbits around Earth are getting more and more congested – with both satellites and debris – space traffic management is a fast-growing focus area to ensure the safe use of space for all. Automation is an essential element to deal with the increased frequency of events, and ESA is preparing the Cream mission to demonstrate collision avoidance technology in space that can make autonomous decisions.
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Cluster’s encore for reentry science a success
The Cluster mission danced its final dance as Tango reentered the atmosphere on 1 September, at 23:30:31 CEST. The end of the Cluster mission in 2024 turned into the start of the reentry data collection campaign. After four ‘targeted’ reentries, this is now a proven method of safe end-of-life disposal. It also enabled the repeated observation of the reentries by a plane full of scientists, creating a unique reentry data set that will improve our understanding of the destructive process and can inform the design of safer and more sustainable satellites in the future.
Samba’s fiery farewell recorded
On 31 August 2026, Samba reentered Earth’s atmosphere at 21:39:38 UTC / 23:39:38 CEST as the third of the four Cluster satellites. Samba had been lined up for a special 'targeted reentry' safely over the South Pacific Ocean, the precision so high that a plane could fly out from Tonga and successfully record its demise for reentry science.
Observing Samba and Tango’s reentries
The final two of ESA's pioneering Cluster spacecraft, Samba and Tango, will end their journeys as they burn up in our atmosphere on 31 August and 1 September respectively. Their targeted reentries mark the end of a mission that has transformed our understanding of Earth's magnetic environment. The final moments also offer a rare scientific opportunity for reentry observations from a plane.
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Cluster satellite reenters Earth's atmosphere
Cluster satellite reenters Earth's atmosphere
ERS-2 reentry – how and why is it happening?
ERS-2 reentry – how and why is it happening?
Right on track: Aeolus reentry map
Right on track: Aeolus reentry map
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Historic Aeolus reentry – how it happened
Get rolling updates on the Aeolus reentry, on the Rocket Science blog
Schedule announced for 8th European Conference on Space Debris
ESA’s Annual Space Environment Report 2020
The latest on the space debris surrounding our planet
ESA Space Debris Mitigation Policy
ESA Space Debris Mitigation Policy (PDF)
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What are satellites up against when it comes to space debris?
Satellites and debris take a long time to return
Collision avoidance: what's the cost?
Launch rates are dramatically increasing
Using reentries to clean up
Learning lessons from the past on space debris
How much damage can debris do?
How at risk are space explorers from passing debris?
How do we tackle the debris problem, to secure the sustainability of space long term?
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About space debris
About space debris
Satellites in orbit underpin our modern lives. They are used in many areas and disciplines, including space science, Earth observation, meteorology, climate research, telecommunication, navigation and human space exploration. They offer a unique perspective, a resource for collecting scientific data, commercial opportunities and various essential applications and services, which lead to unrivalled possibilities for research and exploitation. However, in the past decades, with increasing space activities, a new and unexpected hazard has started to emerge: space debris.
Space debris by the numbers
The latest figures related to space debris, provided by ESA's Space Debris Office at ESOC, Darmstadt, Germany.
Analysis and prediction
The consolidation of knowledge of all known objects in space is a fundamental aspect of the operational support activities at ESA’s Space Debris Office.
Scanning and observing
Space object catalogues, as generated and maintained by space surveillance networks, are limited to larger objects, typically greater than 10 cm in low-Earth orbits (LEO, below about 2000 km) and greater than 0.3–1 m at geostationary orbits (GEO, about 36 000 km). These sensitivity thresholds are a compromise between system cost and performance.
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Recommended
Video playlist
Video playlist
ESA Space Debris brochure (2017; PDF)
ESA Space Debris brochure (2017; PDF)
ESA Space Environment Report
The latest ESA Space Environment Report (PDF)
Search & download proceedings
Search & download proceedings