Space Debris: Is it a Crisis? [Trailer]

Earth is surrounded by thousands of satellites carrying out important work to provide telecommunications and navigation services, help us understand our climate, and answer fundamental questions about the Universe. However, as our use of space accelerates like never before, these satellites find themselves navigating increasingly congested orbits in an environment criss-crossed by streams of fast-moving debris fragments resulting from collisions between objects in space. Each fragment can damage additional satellites, with fears that a cascade of collisions may eventually render some orbits around Earth no longer useable. Some spacecraft operators and astronomers have expressed concern about our rapidly increasing and loosely regulated use of space. But others insist that Earth’s orbital environment is so large, and that the planet’s atmosphere pulls down and burns up debris fast enough that there is no need to worry about any long-term consequences. So, does space debris really represent a crisis? Find out in ESA’s latest short documentary film on the state of space debris, which premiers at the 9th European Conference on Space Debris at the World Conference Center in Bonn, Germany, on 1—4 Apr 2025.