Charted: Number of satellites in low Earth orbit
Low Earth orbit (LEO) is busier than ever—satellites have jumped from about 13,700 in 2019 to over 24,000 by early 2025, mostly thanks to internet and Earth observation projects.
Most of these are small satellites, and the numbers are only expected to keep rising.
Risk of collisions increasing
With so many satellites packed into LEO, the chance of crashes is going up.
In 2025, around 1.4% of satellites will need to dodge others more than 10 times a month—way up from less than 0.2% in 2019.
Collisions create debris that can stick around for centuries and start a chain reaction called Kessler Syndrome.
Need for international cooperation
Experts say managing this space traffic jam needs countries to work together—setting better launch rules and tracking systems to protect vital services like internet and climate monitoring.
Without real cooperation, the risk of collisions (and even more space junk) will just keep growing.