Source page: McKinsey & Company
Commentary
A cleaning task that’s out of this world
Aerospace | Technology
October 6, 2021 – With space exploration comes space junk. Tens of thousands of proposed satellites could enter orbit if plans come to fruition, where they would join about 27,000 pieces of space debris and increase the risk of collisions. Government and other agencies are looking at debris mitigation. Click through the chart to see the amount of debris left in the wake of some of the biggest satellite breakups.
Interactive
To read the article, see “Look out below: What will happen to the space debris in orbit?,” October 1, 2021.
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Visual form
Slide-based infographic sequence.
Layout / body structure
The chart is organized as a slide-by-slide gallery on a dark background, with one breakup event featured per frame. Each slide leads with the title and subtitle at the top, places a line drawing of the satellite or rocket stage in the middle, and anchors the year and debris count at the bottom corners.
What is being compared
The chart compares major orbital breakup events involving satellites, spacecraft, and upper launch stages. Each frame identifies one event and pairs the object name with the amount of catalogued debris it created, so the reader is comparing one breakup against the others in the ranked sequence.
Measurement system
The main measurement is the number of catalogued debris pieces created by each breakup. Year and event type are also displayed, so the reader tracks both the timing of the event and the scale of the resulting debris cloud.
Visible structure inside the graphic
Every frame repeats the same anatomy: a large object name, a simplified line illustration of the vehicle, a small explosion cue beside it, the year and event label at lower left, and the debris-piece count at lower right. The repeated card structure makes the sequence feel like a ranked visual catalog rather than a single chart.
Main takeaway from the visual
The slide series makes orbital debris feel cumulative and concrete by showing that single breakup events can generate hundreds of catalogued pieces at a time. The repeated cards turn space junk from an abstract systems issue into a list of specific, high-volume incidents.
Key standout values or extremes
The visible frames include OV-2/LCS 2 transstage with 473 pieces from a 1965 explosion and Kosmos 2421 with 509 pieces from a 2008 explosion. Those counts show the scale The chart is using and make clear that even one breakup can seed a very large debris field.
Controls / sequence, when applicable
This page uses a slide-based that moves the reader through one breakup card at a time, so the comparison unfolds frame by frame instead of all at once.
Companion media, when applicable
There is no separate companion audio or video; the chart is the full visual on this page.