[Fungi]

As of August 2026, there are about 18,300 satellites in Earth orbit, including roughly 16,300–18,500 active ones depending on the source.
15,000 more and space becomes a war zone.

[PIF]

AI:
As of 2026, Low Earth Orbit (LEO) contains approximately 31,500 to 36,000 tracked objects larger than 10 cm, of which roughly 15,700 to 16,800 are active satellites and the remainder is debris.

Statistical models estimate the population of untracked debris to be significantly higher, with approximately 1.2 million objects between 1 and 10 cm, and over 140 million fragments smaller than 1 cm.

All of which can make for a very bad day, if they strike one of the active satellites, or space space stations.