The European Space Agency (ESA) highlighted, on Monday 14 September in its 2026 Space Environment Report, that while space activities continue to expand at a “remarkable pace” with, in 2025, more than 300 launches placing more than 4,000 new payloads into orbit, the debris population also continues to expand faster, “with both fragmentation debris and defunct payloads contributing significantly”.
“Active debris removal is required to stop the growth of the number of objects over time that is caused by space debris causing new debris on their own through collisions (Kessler syndrome)”, the European Space Agency states. According to ESA, an insufficient number of satellites are leaving heavily congested orbits at end of life, increasing the risk of collision.
Some indicators also show that interest in, and compliance with, space debris mitigation measures is increasing, “but we need to be faster, more consistent and reliable. Without it, we are saddling future generations with a high price to pay for any activities in space”, ESA stresses.
The report also highlights the increase in the number of objects in orbit whose classification remains undetermined, which, according to ESA, reflects a widening gap between fragments detected and those catalogued (i.e., those that have been detected and whose origin is known).
To see the report: https://aeur.eu/f/nf4 (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)