Latest News About Space Junk and Orbital Debris
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Latest about space junk
Rocket Lab launches ADRAS-J space junk inspection satellite for Astroscale (video)
By Mike Wall last updated
Rocket Lab will launch an ambitious space-junk inspection mission for the Japanese company Astroscale this morning (Feb. 18), and you can watch the action live.
SpaceX deorbiting 100 older Starlink satellites to 'keep space safe and sustainable'
By Brett Tingley published
SpaceX announced it will deorbit 100 of its first-generation Starlink satellites in order to lower the number of spacecraft that might fail and become non-maneuverable.
Big, dead European satellite will crash back to Earth this month
By Mike Wall published
The European Space Agency's defunct ERS-2 spacecraft will fall into Earth's atmosphere in a week or so, in a death dive that its handlers will monitor carefully.
Steve Wozniak's start-up Privateer develops ride-sharing spacecraft to reduce orbital clutter
By Tereza Pultarova published
Steve Wozniak's space sustainability start-up Privateer launched a prototype of its Pono space module to encourage users to share 'stuff' in space.
Startup True Anomaly snags $100 million for space security work
By Mike Wall published
True Anomaly just raised $100 million in funding, which the company will use to continue developing its space security technology.
Performing evasive maneuvers increases satellites' collision risk down the road
By Tereza Pultarova published
Trying to avoid satellite collisions in orbit increases the risk of future collisions in the aftermath of each avoidance maneuver, researchers have round.
Colliding space junk makes 'noise' that could be heard from Earth
By Tereza Pultarova published
Weird effects of space junk collisions could help researchers detect dangerous, hard-to-see orbital clutter.
Over the past six years, governments proposed launching over one million satellites, but where will they all go?
By Ewan Wright, Andrew Falle published
As the number of satellites in orbit increase, so will the possibilities of space debris. There are currently 8,000 satellites in orbit, but hundreds of thousands more are being proposed.
Lost astronaut tool bag from ISS shines in new telescope image (photo)
By Elizabeth Howell published
Astronauts on the International Space Station harmlessly lost a tool bag during a spacewalk on Nov. 1. A new telescope image from Rome shows the stray bag shining among the stars.
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