A new CRASH Clock measures the chance of satellite collisions, and it’s ticking down fast
The 'CRASH Clock' is a new metric tracking the time until a potential collision between satellites in low-Earth orbit, which has dropped to 2.5 days as of 2026. The increase in megaconstellations and space debris is significantly raising the risk of cascading orbital collisions.
Why it matters
The rapid accumulation of orbital debris threatens the viability of satellite-based communications and navigation systems essential to modern global infrastructure.
Imagine a piece of space debris the size of a hockey puck slams into a Starlink satellite at about 10 kilometres per second. The kinetic energy is equivalent to two kilograms of TNT, or a fully-loaded semi-truck travelling at 100 kilometres an hour.
The article relies on data-driven metrics and expert analysis regarding space safety.
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