As China Catches Up to Starlink, Space Junk Surges… 'Collision Fears' Grow

China’s rapid increase in orbital launches has sharply raised the amount of spent rocket upper stages left in long-lived orbit.

The mass of these debris objects has grown from under 100 tons in the past five years to 252 tons, according to the brief.

Planned mega-constellations to rival Starlink, including Guowang and Spacesail, could further worsen the space-debris problem.

Uncontrolled upper stages are hard to avoid, increasing the risk of collisions with satellites and spacecraft.