Kessler syndrome

Kessler syndrome is a proposed cascade in which collisions among objects in orbit generate debris that causes further collisions, potentially making some orbital regions hazardous or unusable.

Space debris: Human-made objects and fragments in space that no longer serve a useful function. The debris produced by collisions is the material that can sustain the cascade.
Donald J. Kessler: A NASA scientist who studied meteoroid and orbital-debris hazards. His name is attached to the collision-cascade scenario.
Space debris mitigation: Practices that reduce the creation and persistence of human-made orbital debris. Preventing new debris directly lowers the chance of a self-sustaining cascade.
2007 Chinese anti-satellite test: A 2007 test in which China destroyed the Fengyun-1C weather satellite with a missile. The test generated a large, long-lived debris cloud in low Earth orbit.
Orbital collision: An impact between objects traveling in orbit around a celestial body. Collisions turn intact objects into fragments and can initiate additional impacts.
Burton G. Cour-Palais: A NASA researcher whose work helped establish models of meteoroid and orbital-debris impacts. His impact research informed the debris-risk calculations behind the scenario.
End-of-life disposal (spacecraft): The planned removal or safe retirement of a spacecraft after its mission ends. Deorbiting or moving spacecraft to disposal orbits reduces future collision targets.
2009 satellite collision: The accidental collision of the active Iridium 33 satellite and defunct Cosmos 2251 in 2009. The impact created thousands of trackable fragments and illustrated collision-generated debris.
Debris cascade: A self-amplifying process in which collisions produce fragments that cause further collisions. This is the chain reaction described by Kessler syndrome.
NASA Orbital Debris Program Office: The NASA office that measures and studies human-made debris orbiting Earth. Its tracking and modeling work assesses whether debris populations approach cascade conditions.

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