History of on-orbit satellite fragmentations

The causes of on-orbit fragmentations are varied and may be intentional or accidental. The cause of many fragmentations remains unknown. While a few cases are currently under investigation as on-orbit collision candidates, man is directly responsible for the vast majority of artificial debris polluting the near-Earth space environment. It should be emphasized that the number of fragments listed with each event in this document represent only those debris officially cataloged by NORAD. Each known on-orbit satellite fragementation is described within this document in module format. Also listed are pertinent characteristics of each fragmentation event. Comments regarding the nature of the satellite and additional details of the events are given.