Orbital events
A reference timeline of the moments that shaped today's orbital environment — anti-satellite weapon tests, satellite breakups and collisions, and uncontrolled reentries. Each entry links to debris detail and sources.
- breakup· 2024
Intelsat 33e breakup in geostationary orbit (October 2024)
The Intelsat 33e communications satellite broke apart in geostationary orbit, a total loss that disrupted service and scattered fragments at ~35,800 km.
- breakup· 2024
Long March 6A upper-stage breakup (August 2024)
After a Qianfan constellation launch, a Long March 6A upper stage fragmented near 810 km, creating hundreds of trackable debris pieces tracked by LeoLabs and US Space Command.
- conjunction· 2024
TIMED / Cosmos 2221 near-miss (February 2024)
NASA's TIMED satellite and the defunct Russian Cosmos 2221 passed within an estimated tens of meters of each other — a close call with no way to maneuver either object.
- reentry· 2024
ESA ERS-2 natural reentry (February 2024)
ESA's ERS-2 satellite re-entered over the Pacific after a decade-long passive orbital decay — a model of low-debris end-of-life disposal.
- reentry· 2022
Long March 5B uncontrolled reentry (July 2022)
The 23-ton CZ-5B core stage from the Wentian launch made an uncontrolled reentry over the Sulu Sea and Borneo. Debris was reported in Sarawak, Malaysia.
- reentry· 2022
Starlink geomagnetic-storm loss (February 2022)
A geomagnetic storm raised atmospheric drag just after a Starlink launch, dooming up to 38 of the 49 newly deployed satellites, which re-entered.
- asat· 2021
Cosmos 1408 ASAT test (November 2021)
Russian direct-ascent anti-satellite test destroyed the defunct Tselina-D satellite Cosmos 1408, creating ~1,500 cataloged debris fragments. ISS crews sheltered in their return capsules. The cloud will keep deorbiting through 2030+.
- reentry· 2021
Long March 5B uncontrolled reentry (May 2021)
The ~21-tonne core stage that launched the Tianhe module re-entered uncontrolled, with debris falling into the Indian Ocean near the Maldives.
- reentry· 2020
First Long March 5B uncontrolled reentry (May 2020)
The maiden Long March 5B core stage made an uncontrolled reentry, with debris reportedly recovered in Côte d’Ivoire — the heaviest object to reenter uncontrolled in decades.
- asat· 2019
Mission Shakti — India anti-satellite test (March 2019)
India destroyed its own Microsat-R satellite with a ground-launched interceptor at about 283 km, becoming the fourth nation to demonstrate an anti-satellite weapon.
- reentry· 2018
Tiangong-1 uncontrolled reentry (April 2018)
China's first space station prototype made an uncontrolled reentry over the southern Pacific Ocean after ground controllers lost contact in 2016.
- breakup· 2015
DMSP-F13 weather-satellite breakup (February 2015)
A decades-old US military weather satellite suddenly broke apart, attributed to a battery rupture, adding more than 100 catalogued fragments to orbit.
- derelict· 2012
Envisat — Europe’s 8-tonne derelict
ESA lost contact with Envisat, its largest Earth-observation satellite, in 2012. The ~8-tonne spacecraft still circles a busy orbit with no way to deorbit it.
- reentry· 2012
Phobos-Grunt reentry (January 2012)
A failed Russian Mars sample-return probe, stranded in low orbit after launch, re-entered over the Pacific carrying a full load of toxic propellant.
- reentry· 2011
ROSAT uncontrolled reentry (October 2011)
Germany's ROSAT X-ray observatory re-entered uncontrolled over the Bay of Bengal; its heat-resistant mirror was expected to survive to the surface.
- reentry· 2011
UARS uncontrolled reentry (September 2011)
NASA's 6-tonne Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite re-entered uncontrolled over the Pacific, drawing intense public attention to reentry risk.
- breakup· 2009
Iridium 33 / Cosmos 2251 collision (February 2009)
The first major accidental satellite collision in history. Active Iridium-33 collided with defunct Cosmos-2251 at 789 km, producing ~2,200 cataloged fragments.
- asat· 2008
USA-193 intercept — Operation Burnt Frost (February 2008)
A US Navy SM-3 missile destroyed the failed reconnaissance satellite USA-193 at about 247 km; officials cited the risk from its full hydrazine fuel tank.
- asat· 2007
Fengyun-1C ASAT test (January 2007)
Chinese ASAT test destroyed the defunct Fengyun-1C weather satellite at 865 km altitude, creating ~3,000 cataloged debris fragments — still the worst single debris-creation event in history.
- reentry· 2001
Mir controlled deorbit (March 2001)
Russia deliberately deorbited the 120-tonne Mir space station into the South Pacific — the largest controlled reentry ever, and a model of responsible disposal.
- collision· 1996
Cerise — first confirmed accidental collision (July 1996)
A fragment of an exploded Ariane upper stage severed the stabilization boom of France's Cerise satellite — the first verified accidental collision with a catalogued object.
- reentry· 1979
Skylab uncontrolled reentry (July 1979)
NASA's first space station re-entered uncontrolled, scattering debris over the southern Indian Ocean and sparsely populated Western Australia.
- reentry· 1978
Kosmos 954 nuclear-powered reentry over Canada (January 1978)
A Soviet nuclear-powered reconnaissance satellite re-entered over northern Canada, scattering radioactive debris and triggering the "Operation Morning Light" recovery.