Almost half of the objects in Earth’s orbit are junk—and that’s only the stuff we know about

Nearly half of the objects in Earth’s orbit are trash – and that’s only what we know.

By Adam Kovac edited by Claire Cameron

Nearly half of the objects orbiting Earth can be classified as space junk, and the problem will only get worse as launches and orbital infrastructure increase.

Using data from the US Space Force’s Space-Track.org, engineering component supply company Accu determined that there are currently 33,269 trackable objects in orbit. Of these, 17,682 are satellites. The rest is junk, ranging from spent rocket bodies to debris to objects that could not be identified.

“This means that almost 47% of tracked objects are space junk,” the company wrote in a new report. “However, as many satellites are no longer operational, this means that the true proportion of inactive or uncontrollable objects is even higher.”

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Space junk has been accumulating since the launch of the first satellite, Sputnik 1, in 1957. Yet the problem has worsened sharply over the past decade, as the cost of launches has fallen and the pace of spaceflight has increased. The number of trackable objects in orbit increased by about 10,000 between 2020 and 2025 alone.

The scale of the problem may be largely underestimated. Accu notes that there may be millions of objects too small to track, such as paint stains and other debris shed from rockets and other spacecraft. This poses a major risk: Most objects in orbit move at more than 17,000 miles per hour. At this speed, even the smallest particles could inflict significant damage on infrastructure in orbit. In 2024, astronauts aboard the International Space Station had to seek shelter after a decommissioned Russian satellite broke into numerous fragments. The incident sparked the launch of a U.S. government program to find and monitor smaller trash in low Earth orbit. And in 2025, several Chinese taikonauts found themselves stranded on the Tiangong space station after a suspected piece of space debris shattered the window of their return capsule.

While it is possible that debris in orbit could injure or kill an astronaut, Accu’s analysis suggests the greatest danger is to satellites, with seven pieces of debris tracked for every 10 satellites.

Although it is a problem that literally affects the entire world, its causes are not global. The report estimates that China is responsible for 65 percent of the debris in orbit, while the United States and the Commonwealth of Independent States, comprising Russia and eight smaller countries, account for 40 percent and 23 percent, respectively.

Space agencies, such as NASA, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, the British Space Agency and the European Space Agency, are working on ways to clear lower Earth orbit. Several private companies have also begun marketing their services as space garbage collectors. But until large quantities of waste are disposed of, Accu called on spacecraft designers to take the threat more seriously.

“For engineers shaping tomorrow’s spacecraft, they must keep space debris in mind from the start,” the report’s authors write. “Each component, for its precision, durability and materials, must be carefully chosen to survive potential impacts. Space debris is a major challenge of the modern space age, but how it is addressed will drive innovation and define the future of space exploration.”

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