In the past we've seen deliberate satellite destructions, accidental collisions, and loss of satellites due to increased solar activity. What we do know is that Intelsat 33e has a history of issues while in orbit. Designed and manufactured by Boeing, the satellite was launched in August 2016. In 2017, the satellite reached its desired orbit three months later than anticipated, due to a reported issue with its primary thruster, which controls its altitude and acceleration. More propulsion troubles emerged when the satellite performed something called a station keeping activity, which keeps it at the right altitude. It was burning more fuel than expected, which meant its mission would end around 3.5 years early, in 2027. Intelsat lodged a US$78 million insurance claim as a result of these problems. However, at the time of its breakup, the satellite was reportedly not insured. Intelsat is investigating what went wrong, but we may never know exactly what caused the satellite to fragment. We do know another Intelsat satellite of the same model, a Boeing-built EpicNG 702 MP, failed in 2019. More importantly, we can learn from the aftermath of the breakup: space junk. 30 blue whales of space junk The amount of debris in orbit around Earth is increasing rapidly. The European Space Agency (ESA) estimates there are more than 40,000 pieces larger than 10 cm in orbit, and more than 130,000,000 smaller than 1 cm. The total mass of human-made space objects in Earth orbit is some 13,000 tonnes. That's about the same mass as 90 adult male blue whales. About one third of this mass is debris (4,300 tonnes), mostly in the form of leftover rocket bodies. Tracking and identifying space debris is a challenging task. At higher altitudes, such as Intelsat 33e's orbit around 35,000 km up, we can only see objects above a certain size. frameborder="0″ allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen">