Clearing rocket bodies out of busy orbits

One positive note for the debris environment is that many rocket bodies launched today to deliver satellites into low-Earth orbit are disposed of sustainably. Some are burned up using a "controlled reentry" into Earth’s atmosphere, while others are placed in orbits that naturally decay within 25 years.

Rocket bodies are the largest objects we send to space and their removal from busy orbital highways reduces the chance they explode or fragment into many pieces of dangerous debris.

More on ESA's 2022 Space Environment Report.