The End of the Space Age?

The recent collision between an Iridium satellite and a dead Russian satellite created at least a thousand pieces of space debris. On that day, there were 151 more probable in orbit collisions. There is a real possibility of a slow motion chain reaction, where each collision begets several addition collisions until LEO (Low Earth Orbit) is unusable. LEO operations are already more expensive because of space debris. There is a real possibility that, if left unchecked, space debris could put an end to commercial exploitation of, at least, LEO.

If you thought that environmental concerns could be left on Earth, you were wrong.

Data: http://uk.reuters.com/article/UKNews1/idUKTRE51C73720090213