As humans have pushed into the atmosphere and beyond, the stuff we brought with us is beginning to accumulate, even more so with the increased commercialization of space and technological advancement of satellites. From spent objects left behind to debris caused by collisions, the clutter is adding up. 

So what happens to all of this debris in space? Much of it eventually drops down and burns up on reentry to Earth. In June of 2024, however, space debris crashed through a family's home in Naples, Florida. The object originated from hardware that was dumped by the International Space Station after installation of new batteries.

Earlier this week, Kathleen Curlee and Lauren Kahn published a data snapshot with Georgetown's Center for Security and Emerging Technology: Mapping Space Debris, An Interactive Data Visualization of Orbital Debris and Its Origins. Curlee and Kahn looked at 34,000 pieces of space debris the United States government has tracked since 1958 spread out between four key orbital regions: low earth orbit (LEO), medium earth orbit (MEO), geostationary orbit (GEO), and highly elliptical orbit (HEO).

Congestion in LEO is particularly troubling, as much of our day-to-day communications rely on satellites in LEO. With more stuff orbiting, collisions are increasing, further increasing resulting detritus. Most catastrophic failures that have generated significant space debris occurred in LEO. “The more crowded orbit becomes, the greater the risk that even a single breakup event could have cascading effects.”

Curlee and Kahn found that “United States, Russia (and the former Soviet Union), and China are responsible for nearly 95 percent of catalogued debris currently in orbit” and “[j]ust 20 fragmented satellites and rocket bodies make up nearly 73 percent of all tracked debris still in orbit.” 

As this situation develops, new regulation is being enacted, including the FCC's five year deorbit rule to encourage operators to have better end of life plans for objects in space. Government and private industry are also working on active debris removal technology; however, this field faces both technical challenges and espionage-related risks hampering development. Regardless, the explosion of satellite usage in the private sector means this is a problem that is not going away.