Another satellite breakup raises concerns about space junk
->EarthSky | More on "Satellite breakup and space debris" at BigEarthData.ai | #SpaceJunk

19 objects are set to reenter Earth's atmosphere in the next 7 days. Most burn up, but the largest are worth watching closely.

Reentry timing is uncertain, so we track each one continuously.

See live updates: orbitalradar.com/satellite-…

#SpaceJunk #Reentry #OrbitalRadar

Everyone knows that #uranus is the "ultimate lifeboat"

#elonmusk #spacejunk

#Space #SpaceJunk

Space debris.
#SpaceSky #SpaceJunk

A good primer on the space junk phenomena and problem.

#SpaceSky and #SpaceJunk

BBC reported this summer on Australia's mystery "space balls."

#spacejunk 🇦🇺

www.bbc.com/news/article...

#Satellites multiply,
spent machines and broken shells
haunt the silent #space.
Space was never ours.
Still we scatter #spacejunk through it
and call that #progress.

These are not regions where debris disappears quickly. According to NASA’s Orbital Debris Program, objects at such altitudes can remain in orbit for decades, centuries or even longer, depending on their precise orbital characteristics.

www.digitaljournal.com/article/spac...

#spacejunk #LEO

Space junk crisis deepens as new satellite breakup highlights growing orbital threat. When China’s Yaogan 50-02 satellite broke apart this month, tracking networks detected 43 new fragments scattered across altitudes between roughly 600 km and 1,100 km.

#spacejunk #LEO #lowearthorbit

23 objects are set to reenter Earth's atmosphere in the next 7 days. 🛰️ Most will burn up, but the largest demand a watchful eye.

Timing is tricky—real uncertainty there.

Track them live at orbitalradar.com/satellite-…

#SpaceJunk #OrbitalDecay #Reentry

BBC Science reporter Caroline Steel explains why space junk is such a big issue, and how people are trying to get rid of it.

And Wanjiku Chebet Kanjumba, a Kenyan PHD student studying aerospace engineering, tells us about some of the potential solutions, like using nets or lasers.

#spacejunk

Why did #spacex clap a huge fire ball in the ocean? Why is this something to cheer? And who is going to clear up all the #spacejunk ? Even if he doesn’t care about planet Earth surely Elon Musk can’t want to fill space with more & more pieces of metal that damage his spaceships? Let’s clear it up!

SpaceX Starship reaches orbit for the first time; not without drama.

#starship #orbit #spacejunk

NASA and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency to launch MACS mission to hunt high-risk invisible space junk

🇯🇵🇺🇸 #spacejunk

U.S. Chamber report examines how commercial innovation in low Earth orbit is reshaping U.S. national security and what policymakers can do to sustain America’s advantage in space.
#LEO #security #spacejunk

However promising this repertoire of shielding types is, though, much will hinge on what they encounter. Projectiles range from chunks of metal and pieces of plastic to rocks and flecks of paint, and the mix varies with the orbit. #spacejunk #kesslersyndrome

Satellites get a new type of armor. The Economist notes that satellite makers and operators are now shielding their assets against #spacejunk. Just shows how real this problem is. But you can’t shield from the large hits.

More #spacejunk: A reconnaissance satellite suffered an unidentified anomaly and broke apart into pieces. Those fragments are trapped in a high altitude above Earth, where they risk a head-on collision with another object.

The rate of these failures in LEO is going to quicken the #kesslersyndrome

The Scale of the Problem: More than 30,000 objects larger than 10 cm are cataloged, but an estimated 1.2+ million pieces of debris between 1 cm and 10 cm—each capable of mission-ending kinetic damage at orbital speeds exceeding 17,000 mph—remain difficult to track continuously. #spacejunk