Latest News About Space Junk and Orbital Debris
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Latest about space junk
6 types of objects that could cause space debris apocalypse
By Tereza Pultarova published
Thousands of satellites and millions of out-of-control space debris fragments hurtle high above our heads, threatening to collide. Here are the objects that experts fear the most.
ESA successfully unfurls sail to drag spacecraft out of orbit
By Andrew Jones published
The European Space Agency has successfully unfurled a sail aboard a used cubesat to help drag the spacecraft down into Earth's atmosphere and out of orbit.
Mysterious Russian satellite breaks up in orbit, generating cloud of debris
By Mike Wall published
The mysterious Russian satellite Kosmos 2499 broke apart in early January, and the U.S. Space Force is already tracking 85 pieces of debris from the incident.
How fallen space junk could aid the fight against orbital debris
By Leonard David published
Analysis of space junk that has fallen to Earth could help researchers design rockets and spacecraft that break up more completely during the reentry process.
2 big pieces of space junk nearly collide in orbital 'bad neighborhood'
By Brett Tingley published
Satellite monitoring and collision detection firm LeoLabs spotted a near-miss between a defunct Soviet rocket body and dead spy satellite that passed within about 20 feet (6 meters) of one another.
SpaceX Crew Dragon may get a shield upgrade after Soyuz spacecraft leak
By Elizabeth Howell published
A micrometeoroid strike on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft in December 2022 has spurred NASA to talk to SpaceX about possibly increasing the shielding on its Crew Dragon capsule.
A dead NASA satellite from the 1980s just fell to Earth to meet its fiery demise
By Tariq Malik published
A vintage NASA satellite launched in the 1980s and long-since turned to space junk met a fiery fate late Sunday as it fell back to Earth, NASA says.
Dead NASA satellite will crash to Earth on Jan. 8
By Mike Wall published
A defunct NASA satellite is expected to reenter Earth's atmosphere on Sunday evening (Jan. 8), but there's little to fear from the 5,400-pound hunk of space junk.
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