Latest News About Space Junk and Orbital Debris
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
Astroscale's space debris removal demo mission funded for 2026 launch
By Tereza Pultarova published
Astroscale's ELSA-M demo space junk collector will remove a defunct OneWeb satellite from orbit in 2027.
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."
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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