Latest News About Space Junk and Orbital Debris
Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.
Latest about space junk

India aims to achieve 'debris-free' space missions by 2030
By Sharmila Kuthunur published
India has announced its intent to join the global effort to reduce space debris in low Earth orbit.

NASA satellite's 'shocking' space junk near-miss was even closer than thought
By Mike Wall published
The Feb. 28 encounter between NASA's TIMED satellite and a dead Russian spacecraft was even closer than first thought — a mere 33 feet (10 meters) or so, NASA officials said.

Private space-junk probe to conduct up-close inspection of spent rocket stage
By Andrew Jones published
The mission aims to assist the later removal of spunk junk, an issue that threatens the sustainable use of orbital space above the Earth.

Object that slammed into Florida home was indeed space junk from ISS, NASA confirms
By Mike Wall published
The small object that crashed through the roof of a Florida home last month was indeed part of a pallet jettisoned from the ISS three years ago, NASA has confirmed.

Mysterious object that crashed through Florida home was likely space junk from the International Space Station
By Ben Turner published
The mysterious cylinder crashed through the home of Alejandro Otero on March 8.

Chinese space junk falls to Earth over Southern California, creating spectacular fireball (photos, video)
By Mike Wall published
A big piece of Chinese space junk fell to Earth over Southern California early Tuesday morning (April 2), putting on quite a show for observers in the Golden State.

Big, dead satellite's crash was a space-junk wakeup call, experts say
By Leonard David published
The uncontrolled reentry of the European Space Agency's defunct ERS-2 satellite was a reminder that operators should plan out the safe demise of their spacecraft.

Near miss! NASA satellite, dead Russian spacecraft zoom past each other in orbit
By Mike Wall published
NASA's TIMED Earth-observation satellite and a dead Russian spacecraft nearly slammed into one another high above our heads this morning (Feb. 28).

Dead, 5,000-pound satellite is falling to Earth today. Will any debris survive the fiery reentry?
By Leonard David published
A European Space Agency spacecraft is making an uncontrolled nosedive into Earth's atmosphere – with elements of the 2.3-ton spent satellite likely to survive the plunge into purgatory.
Get the Space.com Newsletter
Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!