Operational Deployment

Risk of lithium-ion batteries overheating and causing fire or explosion, potentially leading to satellite fragmentation and debris creation.

Risk of a decommissioned or uncontrolled satellite colliding with active spacecraft, potentially creating a cascading debris event (Kessler Syndrome).

Batteries are typically made of lithium cobalt oxide, lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide, or lithium nickel cobalt aluminum oxide which are limited natural resources

Leakage of highly toxic hydrazine propellant during handling, fuelling, or in-orbit operations, posing severe health and environmental hazards.

Limited geostationary orbital slots are becoming increasingly congested, raising collision risks and limiting future access.

Cathode material breakdown

Increasing satellite numbers cause radio frequency spectrum congestion, degrading signal quality for all users and increasing interference.

Bright satellites create light streaks in telescope images, severely impacting ground-based astronomical research.

Working fluids in satellite heat pipes (often ammonia or acetone) are toxic and pose risks during manufacturing and in the event of leakage.