In this scope, our study aims to examine the impact of new trends in satellite launch activities on the orbital debris environment and collision risk. Furthermore, a majority of the state-of-the-art forecasts do not take into account the orbital parameters which are critical for the accuracy of an orbital debris simulation. However, the satellite industry is likely to grow with more and more start-up companies having been established around the globe and historical trends are no more representative. There are forecasts which take into account the historical launch trends and aim to estimate the number of satellite and rocket bodies that will accumulate in the orbits in the future. Before a launch vehicle lifts off, its trajectory is checked against the trajectories of orbital objects to avoid any collisions. Conjunction warnings are provided to space operators in order for them to execute collision avoidance maneuvers. A worldwide system of ground-based radars, telescopes, along with space-based sensors, is utilized for tracking and cataloging orbital objects. Today, the space community is aware of this orbital debris and the problems it causes. It is not only the satellites that contribute to the increase in orbital density, but also the upper stage engines, which carry the satellites to orbit, fragments from engine exhausts, and many other human-made objects. This resulted in an unnecessary accumulation of retired spacecraft in Earth orbits.
No measures were implemented to retrieve or dispose of them. During the early days of the Space Age, it was not considered what would happen to the satellites once they become non-operational. However, they stop functioning once they are out of fuel or one of their systems fail only around 1,400 of them are currently in orbit and operational. More than 7,000 satellites have been launched into Earth orbit since the flight of Sputnik 1 in 1957. A graphic of the orbital debris around Earth.
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