Almost half of everything orbiting Earth is space junk
Popular Science...
Nearly half of all known objects currently orbiting Earth technically classify as space junk, but the true amount may be even higher. Not only that, the debris continues amassing faster than it’s being removed.
The latest red alert report comes from the engineering components company, Accu, and is based on information compiled from the U.S. Space Surveillance Network and its Space-Track database. According to their assessment, there are at least 12,550 tracked orbital debris fragments circling the planet “with no control or purpose.” That’s around 47 percent of the 33,269 known objects, which includes almost 17,690 satellites. But with many of those satellites now inactive along with nearly 2,400 jettisoned rocket bodies, the total space junk is likely worse than the current numbers suggest.
Countries are racing to establish a long-term human presence in space and on the moon, but there are a lot of little problems to consider. More specifically, these issues range from the size of screws and paint chips to dead satellites. All that space junk orbits the planet at roughly 17,400 miles per hour, meaning even a tiny collision could derail an entire mission. In 2016, for example, debris no bigger than a few thousandths of a millimeter smacked into one of the International Space Station’s quadruple-glazed Cupola windows and left behind a quarter-inch-wide crater.
Crunching the numbers further, Accu calculated that there are seven debris objects for every 10 satellites orbiting Earth. The responsibility almost entirely falls on three contributors—China has generated 34 percent of the junk, while the United States and the Russian-aligned Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) have both provided about 31 percent of the debris.
Most abandoned objects revolving around Earth follow a decaying orbit due to the planet’s gravity and will burn up during atmospheric re-entry. But that often takes years to occur, and as Accu points out, it doesn’t always erase the issue. Material like aluminum, copper, and lithium may vaporize before they hit the ground, but their particulates remain in the upper atmosphere. More research is needed to understand the full impact, but evidence already suggests harmful effects on the ozone.
So what’s being done to address the issue? Not much, unfortunately. Accu notes there are no major projects in development to remove space junk, although there is growing investments in at least maintaining or reducing the overall problem. The European Space Agency (ESA) is leading the charge with programs like ClearSpace-1, the first active debris collection mission. Meanwhile, a number of private companies are also beginning to implement their own endeavors. Technology like robotic arms, drag sails, and even harpoons are all being researched as potential ways to help address the problem.
The bottom line is that the roughly 15,550 tons of space junk currently above everyone’s heads is literally not going anywhere anytime soon. That’s about the same weight as 40 jumbo jets, and it’s only increasing. Accu’s report isn’t meant to offer concrete solutions, so much as highlight that this is a very real problem that requires international coordination and efforts to control. Without that, humanity is going to have a much more difficult time exploring the cosmos.
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