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Space debris (also known as space junk, space pollution, [1] space waste, space trash, space garbage, or cosmic debris [2]) are defunct human-made objects in space – principally in Earth orbit – which no longer serve a useful function.
A significant event related to the Kessler Syndrome occurred on August 9, 2024, when a Chinese Long March 6A rocket broke apart in low-Earth orbit, creating a cloud of hundreds of debris fragments. The US Space Command confirmed this breakup, and it has been tracked by multiple space debris-tracking organizations.
Also called space debris, space junk is comprised of non-operational satellites and other human-made objects that continue to hurtle around Earth's orbit long after they served their purpose.
As the number of satellites in Earth orbit increases, so too does the risk from space debris — and some experts warn certain orbits could already be getting dangerously crowded.
As of 2012 there were an estimated 500,000 pieces of debris in orbit, [4] with 300,000 pieces below 2000 km . [1] Of the total, about 20,000 are tracked. [ 1 ] Also, about sixteen old Soviet nuclear space reactors are known to have released an estimated 100,000 NaK liquid metal coolant droplets 800–900 km up, [ 5 ] which range in size from 1 ...
The larger piece of space debris had carbon fiber composite and honeycomb structure, weighing nearly 100 pounds (45 kg). It was part of the Axiom 3 Dragon trunk section that reentered on 26 February over that region. [55] [56] On 21 May 2024, a fragment of reentered space debris was found in Haywood County (North Carolina, US). The charred ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A defunct Russian satellite has broken up into more than 100 pieces of debris in orbit, forcing astronauts on the International Space Station to take shelter for about an ...
A record stay in earth’s orbit and a fine to Dish Network might have space debris in common. Space junk is causing problems — and experts think it’s just the start. Why it matters