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The Kessler syndrome is a potential danger regarding low Earth orbits (LEOs): a catastrophic cascade of collisions (collisional cascade) of space debris. Occasional debris collisions could lead to a runaway process: as such collisions create more debris items, in turn increasing the frequency of collisions, a tipping point could be reached such that very quickly, avoiding debris becomes no longer manageable for space probes. In 1978, Donald Kessler published a model of this type of potential event, which could make low Earth orbit unusable.
Current plans include substantial expansion of current satellite constellations, as well as additional such constellations. The number of satellites in LEO is to increase by thousands, not all of them managed by any single organization, but by various individual national governments and corporations. This increases the probability of a failure to predict and avert enough collisions and the outcome could make LEO far more dangerous to humans and equipment.