Largest inactive satellite (mass)

The most massive inactive satellite as of January 2022 is Envisat, an Earth observation research satellite which was launched by the European Space Agency on 1 March 2002 and lost on 8 April 2012. Envisat has a dry mass of 7,911 kg (17,440 lb) and measures 26 m (85 ft) along its longest axis.

Envisat is a source of concern for those monitoring space debris because of its size and proximity to other pieces of space junk. Envisat's orbit brings it within 200 m (656 ft) of two other catalogued objects every year. It is were to collide with something as small as a 10-kg instrument cover, it would create a huge cloud of debris which could then cause additional collisions.

The ESA considered a mission called e.Deorbit to capture and de-orbit Envisat, but it was cancelled in 2018. It will take 150 years for Envisat to deorbit naturally.