Latest News About Space Junk and Orbital Debris
![U.S. and Australia Join Forces to Track Space Junk](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/fgZ69HVANhwS3fMWVwte8Z-320-80.jpg)
The amount of trash in Earth orbit, from spent rocket stages, broken satellites and micrometeoroids, is growing. Scientists are working on methods to combat the threat of space junk and orbital debris collisions.
Related Topics: International Space Station, Incredible Space Tech, Military Space, NASA
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Latest about space junk
![illustration of debris in orbit around Earth](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/kjZnmQnVX2VrH6MSjyUiym-320-80.jpg)
Space is becoming an 'unsustainable environment in the long term,' ESA says
By Jackson Ryan published
"Overall, the report is full of bad news that is good news."
![The astronauts of China's Shenzhou 18 mission simulate a debris-strike emergency aboard the Tiangong space station in July 2024.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/X5RMZfeADFcyuU5espMQq7-320-80.jpg)
Chinese astronauts simulate a debris-strike emergency on the Tiangong space station (video)
By Andrew Jones published
China's Shenzhou 18 mission staged an emergency drill recently to boost preparedness aboard the country's Tiangong space station.
![view from the upper stage of a rocket looking down at its closely packed satellite payload and Earth in the background](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/sEoeyvUbZCESaRbMwNXGPi-320-80.jpg)
SpaceX Starlink satellites made 50,000 collision-avoidance maneuvers in the past 6 months. What does that mean for space safety?
By Tereza Pultarova published
Satellites in SpaceX's Starlink megaconstellation made nearly 50,000 collision-avoidance maneuvers in the last six months, about double the number made in the previous half-year.
![illustration of a mars base, with a handful of people inside a domed habitat and a large rocket launching in the background](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Fy5S2ZXbkawA59EfsCDpea-320-80.jpg)
Where will we be in space in 2049? A look at spaceflight over the next 25 years
By Mike Wall published
The next quarter-century in space exploration could be historic, the era in which humanity finally establishes a foothold on the moon and Mars.
![a person standing beside a very large piece of debris. the debris is charred and roughly the same width as a person's height](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/kQYsTb9jUt4fjh7Gw3rBZk-320-80.jpg)
A new, deadly era of space junk is dawning, and no one is ready
By Samantha Lawler published
A Saskatchewan farmer's near miss with potentially lethal debris falling from orbit highlights the skyrocketing risks and murky politics of space junk.
![a cylindrical spacecraft floating above a blue-and-white earth, with a cone-shaped rocket nozzle above it pointing up, away from earth](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/BWRYLXdDw4wGkXaJ4hQEFQ-320-80.jpg)
Private space-junk probe gets up-close look at discarded rocket in orbit (photo)
By Brett Tingley published
Astroscale's ADRAS-J spacecraft snapped a striking image of a rocket body floating lifeless above a blue-and-white Earth, with the sun's glare reflecting off of it.
![a spacewalking astronaut in a white spacesuit is seen through the open hatch of his spacecraft, with earth's cloudy skies behind him](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/L44tbqqMz7MkrS9qAt8bW4-320-80.jpg)
Chinese astronauts install space-junk shielding on Tiangong space station (video)
By Andrew Jones published
Two Chinese astronauts continued installing space debris protection outside the nation's Tiangong space station during a July 3 EVA.
![a large black piece of fiberglass covered in metal bolts and plates lies on the ground beside a trail leading into a forest. mountains can be seen rolling in the distance](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/idzT5o6S4JmthszTLGLqB7-320-80.jpg)
Find a piece of SpaceX space junk? Call the hotline
By Leonard David published
SpaceX has established a debris hotline and a special email address to aid folks who may have found fallen pieces of the company's hardware.
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