A Boeing-built satellite has unexpectedly broken up in geostationary orbit, sending shards of debris into space.

The reason for the satellite’s destruction is unclear, but multiple organisations are tracking the path of the debris to ensure it does not cause further collisions with other orbiting bodies.

Space debris is becoming an increasingly pressing issue to mitigate. As the number of satellites in orbit increases, so does the risk that some of it will collide with manned and unmanned space assets. It is estimated that around one million pieces of debris larger than 1cm are in Earth’s orbit, and around 100 trillion pieces of old satellite are not being tracked.

The US Space Force confirmed the break-up of Intelsat 33E on 19 October at 4.30am GMT. It said it was currently tracking around 20 associated pieces of debris, although it “observed no immediate threats” to other satellites. Meanwhile, ExoAnalytic Solutions CEO Douglas Hendrix told spacenews.com that his firm had identified 57...