Value chain · CLM-1188
In plain terms
Over the past ten years, almost every satellite retiring from the geostationary belt has tried to move itself out of the way as the debris rules ask, but only about seven to nine in ten have managed it, and the report notes two bad years, 2015 and 2022.
The claim as recorded
ESA's Annual Space Environment Report, Issue 10.0 dated 1 May 2026, states in its executive summary that between 85 and 100 per cent of all payloads reaching end-of-life during the last decade in the GEO protected region attempt to comply with space debris mitigation measures, and that between 70 and 90 per cent do so successfully, "with the compliance trend asymptotically increasing, but with notable exceptions in 2015 and 2022".
Scope and limits
GEO PAYLOADS ONLY. The same page's LEO figures (20 to 85 and 5 to 85 per cent, "in a non-compliant orbit") and rocket-body figures are different populations and are not claimed here. The LEO targets, the 90 per cent common target and the 5-year rule are CLM-0753's and must not be combined with these. The GEO sentence counts "all payloads", while the LEO sentences count only those "in a non-compliant orbit", so the percentages are not like for like across regimes. RANGES ACROSS YEARS, NOT A SINGLE RATE: the page gives no per-year values or average. Figure 6.36's count axis runs only to 20 payloads per year (axis reading), so one or two payloads move a year's share by 5 to 10 points (own arithmetic, not read from bars). Catalogued and asserted objects only (p.14). Rocket bodies inserting GEO satellites have their own figure (6.38) and no summary percentage on p.7; none is claimed. Compliance with guidelines is not a legal obligation, except that ESA's standard binds ESA projects (p.7, stated for the 2023 Standard).
What it assumes
That "the last decade" means the ten end-of-life years to 2025, the report's status year; the page does not give the years. That "comply with space debris mitigation measures" means the GEO disposal requirement stated on p.135 (CLM-0752), re-orbiting to an orbit clear of the protected region; the summary sentence does not name the measure.
Where it comes from
p.7, verbatim: "Between 85% and 100% of all payloads reaching end-of-life during the last decade in the GEO protected region attempt to comply with space debris mitigation measures. Between 70% and 90% do so successfully, with the compliance trend asymptotically increasing, but with notable exceptions in 2015 and 2022." Page footer "Page 7/151". The GEO protected region is defined on p.15, Table 1.3, as altitude 35,586 to 35,986 km and declination -15 to +15 degrees. The body figures behind the summary are captioned "Figure 6.36: Trend of adherence to the disposal guideline in GEOIADC." (p.137), "Figure 6.37: Mass trend of adherence to the disposal guideline in GEOIADC." (p.138) and "Figure 6.38: Trend of adherence to the disposal guideline for rocket bodies used to insert satellites in GEOIADC." (p.139). Figure 6.36's legend classes are "Successful Attempt", "Insufficient Attempt" and "No Attempt", by "End-of-Life Year" from 1999.
Basis: share of payloads reaching end-of-life in the GEO protected region that attempt, and that achieve, compliance with debris mitigation measures, per cent, as a range over the last decade
Related records
- Answers question
- QST-011 not published in this release
Cite this
energyaperture.com/c/clm-1188
CLM-1188, Energy Aperture, as of 2025.
Connected records
Other published records linked to this one. A list, not a judgement.
- Also from SRC-226
- CLM-0750The 2020 edition of the international debris guidelines says a retiring geostationary satellite should climb at least 235 km above its...CLM-0751Working the international disposal formula through by hand shows that for a very large and very light satellite the extra height it must...CLM-0752ESA's 2026 report says that nothing naturally removes objects from geostationary orbit the way the atmosphere slowly clears low orbit, so a...CLM-0753ESA's 2026 report says the world is not clearing satellites out of orbit well enough, that even the usual 90 per cent success target would...CLM-0754ESA's 2026 report projects that collisions between existing pieces of debris will keep making more debris in low Earth orbit even if...CLM-0756The international space debris guidelines are advice, not law: ESA's own report says they are a starting point for national rules and...CLM-1183ESA's 2026 report counts about 960 catalogued objects in geostationary orbit at the end of 2025, about 800 of them satellites, but nearly...