These are the latest stats:
– Number of rocket launches since the start of the space age in 1957: About 6500 (excluding failures).
– Number of satellites these rocket launches have placed into Earth orbit: About 16 990
– Number of these still in space: About 11 500
– Number of these still functioning: About 9000
– Number of debris objects regularly tracked by Space Surveillance Networks and maintained in their catalogue: About 35 150
– Estimated number of break-ups, explosions, collisions, or anomalous events resulting in fragmentation: More than 640
– Total mass of all space objects in Earth orbit: More than 11500 tonnes
– Not all objects are tracked and catalogued. The number of debris objects estimated based on statistical models to be in orbit [MASTER-8, future population 2021]:
・36500 space debris objects greater than 10 cm
・1 000 000 space debris objects from greater than 1 cm to 10 cm
・130 million space debris objects from greater than 1 mm to 1 cm
🎥 ESA – European Space Agency
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