PARIS — Forty percent of satellites in low Earth orbit in 2020 that had to perform a deorbit maneuver to comply with end-of-life clearance recommendations did nothing, according to the European Space Agency’s latest Space Environment Report.
The figure is part of a generally improving trend when measured in pure percentage terms. But with ever-greater numbers of satellites launching to LEO, even that piece of good news evaporates.
Better news is found when the picture is widened to include satellites whose orbit . . .
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