‘Humanity would watch helplessly as space junk multiplies uncontrollably’: has the number of satellite launches reached a tipping point?

From chaotic collisions to depletion of the ozone layer, the thousands of satellites in orbit around Earth have the potential to wreak havoc in coming decades. What are the solutions to a growing menace?

Since the start of the space age, we've had a throwaway culture - a bit like plastics in the ocean," says Nick Shave, managing director of Astroscale UK, an in-orbit servicing company headquartered in Japan.

Getting a satellite into orbit around the Earth used to be a big deal. From the launch of the first, Sputnik, in 1957, as it became easier and cheaper to put satellites into space, the numbers have boomed. In 2022, there were about 6,000 and by 2030, one estimate suggests there will be nearly 60,000 satellites in orbit around our planet.