Earth’s lower orbit has been littered with an increasing amount of junk that is careening through space at intense speeds, threatening satellites and even the International Space Station.
In 1957, the Soviet Union launched the first satellite, Sputnik. Since then, the space above Earth has been flooded with thousands of satellites, spent rocket stages and the debris from several catastrophic events. As a result,
Visualization of space debris and active satellites based on TLE data from LeoLabs fetched Jan. 9. Scale of dots represent the size of orbiting object, not to scale. As rockets launch to orbit, they often discard upper stages that have their own engines and propellant. If they don’t burn up in the atmosphere or fall back to Earth, they join the cloud of space debris in low Earth orbit. Several of these are the size of a school bus, spinning wildly as they move through space. In total, there are nearly 1,000 spent rocket stages of varying sizes in Earth’s lower orbit.
Thankfully, there are a number of steps governments and companies are taking to curb the problem of space junk. The Biden administration has called for a ban on all destructive antisatellite tests, and recently, the Pentagon launched a
Argentina Últimas Noticias, Argentina Titulares
Similar News:También puedes leer noticias similares a ésta que hemos recopilado de otras fuentes de noticias.
NASA starts designing futuristic space telescope to hunt for alien EarthsThe Habitable Worlds Observatory mission is starting to take shape.
Leer más »
Russia to launch rescue mission for stranded astronauts on International Space StationRussia will send a rescue pod to the International Space Station next month, to rescue three stranded crew members after a micrometeoroid left a hole in their original vessel last month.
Leer más »
Decoded: What Are Black Holes?At their core, black holes are points where spacetime curves infinitely. This, like dividing by zero, is not mathematically possible. We named this area where our laws of physics and spacetime breakdown the “singularity.” 📽️
Leer más »
Europe’s largest rare earths deposit found in SwedenThe discovery by Swedish state-owned miner LKAB, could help the continent break away from China’s dominance in the sector.
Leer más »
SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule returns to Earth after 6-week stay at space stationThe robotic capsule splashed down Wednesday morning (Jan. 11) off the coast of Tampa, Florida.
Leer más »