Long March 6A upper-stage breakup (August 2024)

In August 2024, the upper stage of a Chinese Long March 6A rocket broke apart at roughly 810 km altitude following the launch of the first batch of Qianfan ("Thousand Sails" / G60) broadband satellites. The fragmentation created hundreds of trackable debris objects in a densely used region of low Earth orbit.

Tracked by commercial and government sensors The breakup was detected and characterised by LeoLabs, the commercial space-tracking company that operates its own global radar network, alongside US Space Command's tracking. LeoLabs reported that the event produced one of the larger debris clouds of the year — a reminder that spent rocket bodies, not just satellites, are a major source of orbital debris.

Why the altitude matters At around 810 km, atmospheric drag is weak, so the fragments will persist for years to decades rather than re-entering quickly. The event drew particular scrutiny because the Qianfan programme plans to launch thousands of satellites, and repeated upper-stage breakups at these altitudes would meaningfully add to the collision risk for everything operating nearby.