Mega-constellations of satellites increase space junk risk

When Russian military satellite Cosmos-2251 and US commercial satellite Iridium 33 crashed into each other in February 2009, both spacecraft were destroyed, spreading a cloud of debris into orbit around the earth. It is estimated that more than 1400 pieces of debris larger than 10cm were produced, some of which will stay in orbit until the end of the century. More

(Source: Financial Times - Mar 30)