Threats to Satellite Systems in the Earth Orbit

A large number of satellites operate in Earth's orbit. These are satellites for Earth observation, navigation, meteorology and climate, communication, and many others. They perform tasks and provide services without which today's world would not function. All these satellites are highly vulnerable. There are different kinds of threats. It is primarily space debris and various natural threats such as near-Earth objects and space weather. There are also intentional, man-made threats. These are divided into kinetic, non-kinetic, electronic and cybernetic. The article discusses the development of knowledge of individual types of threats and discusses possible ways to recognize these threats and how to protect vital satellites from them.