As early as the time of the Apollo moon flights, experts became aware that satellite technology and space travel brought with them a waste problem. However, this has not yet been solved – on the contrary: space debris is becoming a problem that can hardly be controlled.
“We all live in space. Let’s not create chaos.” With this request, then US Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan responded to India’s experiment of destroying its own satellite with an anti-satellite missile. The March 2019 attempt was successful – producing over 250 pieces of debris that could be tracked from Earth – however you define “success”.