Deorbiting Just 50 Pieces of Space Debris Could Dramatically Improve L.E.O.

[Buster's Uncle]

Deorbiting Just 50 Pieces of Space Debris Could Dramatically Improve Low Earth Orbit
Jon Martindale
Extreme Tech
Wed, October 8, 2025 at 9:15 AM EDT
2 min read



(Credit: ESA/ID&Sense;/ONiRiXEL)


A new paper has listed the top 50 most problematic pieces of space debris currently in low Earth orbit (LEO). Most of them are from the last century and pose a serious risk of breaking into finer, more multitudinous, and harder-to-track pieces of debris in the coming years. The paper, presented Friday at the International Astronautical Congress, suggests that deorbiting just the top 50 pieces would reduce the future debris potential for LEO by up to 50%.

The problem of space debris has been discussed since the 1950s, and in the 1970s, the idea of it limiting space activity entirely became known as the Kessler Syndrome. While we're fortunately still a long way from such a reality, the issue of debris cascade is still very real, and some specific pieces of space debris can potentially be extremely problematic.



The debris around Earth is concentrated in LEO and GSO. Credit: NASA


Of the top 50 objects, 34 are Russian or Soviet Union in origin, 10 are from China, three are from the USA, two are from Europe, and one is from Japan. The top 10, as Ars Technica puts it, has a similar makeup and includes:

A Russian SL-16 rocket launched in 2004

Europe's Envisat satellite launched in 2002

A Japanese H-II rocket launched in 1996

A Chinese CZ-2C rocket launched in 2013

A Soviet SL-8 rocket launched in 1985

A Soviet SL-16 rocket launched in 1988

Russia's Kosmos 2237 satellite launched in 1993

Russia's Kosmos 2334 satellite launched in 1996

A Soviet SL-16 rocket launched in 1988

A Chinese CZ-2D rocket launched in 2019

These potential sources of debris are so problematic that removing just these 10 from orbit would eliminate some 30% of future potential debris. Deorbiting the top 50 would cut it by 50%.

Unfortunately, although the technology exists and has been demonstrably shown to be capable of deorbiting even large debris, there isn't much incentive to use it. It's prohibitively expensive, and there isn't the kind of communal funding available that would make any one nation or space organization willing to do the job.

It's not going to get easier, though. Although US and European spacecraft are all mandated to deorbit themselves within 25 years of abandoning orbit, that's not necessarily the case with other space agencies. The report highlights that since the start of 2024, China has left 26 upper-stage rocket bodies in orbit that are likely to remain for longer than 25 years. There are also concerns around the increasing popularity of satellite constellations, potentially encouraging future debris buildup.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/deorbiting-just-50-pieces-space-131500595.html