What is the Kessler Syndrome — and why it matters

During the CERN IdeaSquare i2Planet programme, we analysed a scenario that sounds like science fiction — but isn't: the Kessler Syndrome. One satellite collision creates thousands of fragments, those fragments cause more collisions, and eventually orbit becomes unusable.
- Current orbital congestion
- Atmospheric drag reduction effects
- Collision probability under different load scenarios
- Debris lifetime models
One critical insight: the atmosphere acts as a natural "orbital cleaner". If atmospheric density decreases, debris stays longer and collision risk increases. As computer science students we weren't just observing — we were modelling system behaviour under constraints.
