--- title: "China Deploys Rare Type of Space Junk That Pollutes Orbit for Hundreds of Years" description: "A Chinese spacecraft that failed in a very rare Earth orbit is going to be up there for an extremely long time." date: "2026-09-12" modified: "2026-09-12" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor.md" url: "https://futurism.com/space/china-deploys-space-junk-pollutes-orbit-hundreds-years" categories: - "NASA" - "Off-World" - "Space" --- # China Deploys Rare Type of Space Junk That Pollutes Orbit for Hundreds of Years ![A photo illustration of space junk orbiting the Earth.]() *Shutterstock / Futurism* The number of space launches has skyrocketed over the last few years, rapidly turning the Earth's atmosphere into a "crematorium" for satellites and other space junk. Even now, it's a considerable danger for any spacecraft that dares to orbit the Earth in a cluttered environment. According to the European Space Agency, more than 60 years of space activity have resulted in [over 56,000 tracked objects]() in orbit. Roughly [half of them](), as meticulously catalogued by the US Space Surveillance Network, are doomed to circle our planet in perpetuity. Now, a Chinese reconnaissance satellite is making matters even worse. The country's Yaogan 50-02 satellite managed to reach its highly retrograde orbit at an altitude of around 590 miles, circling the Earth at an angle of 141 degrees, against the planet's rotation — a highly unusual orbit. However, as Harvard astronomer and space tracking expert Jonathan McDowell [noted on X](), the satellite disintegrated months later, resulting in 43 separate pieces of space debris being tracked by the US Space Force at orbits between 372 and 683 miles. Thanks to its relatively high altitude, the pieces are likely to stay in orbit for a very, very long time. "The higher the altitude, the longer the orbital debris will typically remain in Earth orbit," NASA explains on [its website](). "At altitudes of \[500 miles\], the time for orbital decay is often measured in centuries. Above \[621 miles\], orbital debris will normally continue circling the Earth for a thousand years or more." Officials have yet to announce what caused the Chinese satellite to break up. McDowell [suggested]() that it could've been a "battery explosion or an impact by space debris." It's a particularly precarious moment as the Earth's orbit continues to be filled with leftover rocket stages and satellite remnants. Researchers have [warned for years]() that a single severe collision between orbital debris could escalate into a cascading series of follow-up accidents, a phenomenon known as "Kessler syndrome." The outlook is grim, as detailed in a [2025 paper](). An international team of researchers devised a new framework called the "Collision Realization and Significant Harm (CRASH) Clock," concluding that in the case of a "widespread disruptive event," it could cause just days for a "catastrophic" Kessler event to threaten casualties on the ground. **More on space debris:** [*Space Junk Now Almost Constantly Crashing Down to Earth*]() ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()