Space debris is cluttering low Earth orbit, posing a growing threat to satellites, space stations, and future missions. Experts warn that collisions with abandoned rockets and dead satellites could ...

"U.S. Space Command can confirm the break-up of a Chinese Long March 6A rocket launched on August 6, 2024, resulting in over ...

As space junk increases, more operators are choosing to launch without any insurance at all. To compensate, companies are ...

This means making sure to de-orbit their satellites and accompanying space trash, either by driving them low to burn up in Earth’s atmosphere or flying away to higher, less-crowded orbits.

This computer-generated image shows objects (white dots) currently being tracked in low Earth orbit, which is the most concentrated area for orbital debris. (Image credit: NASA) This story was ...

But one thing we can be sure of is that there’s a ton of junk in space. ... But, despite the stark warnings Jah has for the future of low-earth orbit, he does have some hope.

Low-Earth orbit, a narrow band of space around Earth, is crowded with thousands of tons of space junk. IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

Outer space is incomprehensibly vast and empty. Yet over the past century, humans have managed to clutter a region known as low Earth orbit (LEO), which stretches from 125 to 1,200 miles above the ...

Low Earth Orbit is the region of space within 1,200 miles of the Earth’s surface. It is the most concentrated area for orbital debris. Photo by NASA Orbital Debris Program Office.

Near-Earth orbit is even more congested than the space between Earth and the Moon. It’s from 100 to 500 miles straight up, compared with 240,000 miles to the Moon.

In low-earth orbit, objects can collide at around 23,000 miles an hour, enough for even the tiniest debris to crack the windows on the International Space Station.

The problem is that atmospheric density is the only thing that naturally pulls space junk out of orbit. Earth's atmosphere doesn't suddenly give way to the vacuum of space but gets dramatically ...