Space debris effect on solar radiation propagation

The growing amount of space debris (SD) in near-Earth space already poses a threat to space activities, interferes with astronomical observations, and may lead to negative environmental consequences on Earth in the future. This paper estimates the current attenuation of solar radiation in the wavelength range from vacuum ultraviolet to infrared. We determine the rate of exponential increase in SD mass. Estimates of the future SD mass are also obtained at which the logarithm of solar radiation attenuation will increase to 10⁻⁶–10⁻³. We find the time required for the logarithm of solar radiation attenuation to increase to 10⁻⁶.