More than 27000 pieces of orbital debris, or “space junk,” are tracked by the
Can the federal government keep up?
However, these are just the objects large enough to be tracked. As of January
Most space debris objects are too small to be tracked but large
Two items of space junk expected to pass close to one another have avoided collision, said a company which uses radar to track objects in orbit.
Zombie satellites, rocket shards and collision debris are creating major
firms to participate in satellite construction, space launch, space
Tracking these small objects can help companies maneuver their satellites to avoid catastrophic collisions. Over 100 million of bits of junk ...
"That's going to amplify the problems we have with tracking objects, predicting close approaches and preventing collisions," says Weeden.
Of known and tracked space junk 70 percent is in low-Earth orbit, which extends about