A new report from Europe raises serious alarms about orbital collisions

The 2013 film *Gravity* dramatized the Kessler syndrome, showing a Russian missile strike that creates a debris cloud and triggers cascading collisions. The concept, first proposed by NASA scientists Donald Kessler and Burton Cour-Palais, warns that orbital debris can render space unusable. The movie’s depiction, while fictionalized, highlights the real risk of uncontrolled debris in Earth orbit.