A new European report warns of escalating risks from orbital collisions as satellite numbers surge from ~1,000 to 17,000, with SpaceX's Starlink driving most growth. Concerns center on whether the Kessler syndrome — a cascading chain reaction of debris collisions — could render orbits unusable.
Background
Since 2013, SpaceX's Starlink constellation has grown from approximately 1,000 to over 11,000 active satellites, with thousands more planned. Amazon, China, and other nations are similarly deploying Internet-from-space constellations.
- Source
- Ars Technica
- Published
- Sep 23, 2026 at 07:00 PM
- Score
- 7.0 / 10