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Over 6,600 tons of space junk are floating around in Earth's orbit
We've deployed so many satellites into space over the last few decades that we now have a massive orbital junk problem. The European Space Agency (ESA) noted in its Annual Space Environment Report that more than 6,600 tons of space junk are currently floating about in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), between…
It's a mostly invisible but massive problem, because "we depend on satellites as a source of information for our daily life, from navigation, to telecommunications, to services, to Earth observation, including defense and security," ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher told DW. According to Tiago Soares, lead engineer of ESA's Clean Space Office, "a one-centimeter piece of debris has the energy of a hand grenade." Preventing the release of mission-related objects (like lens caps and deployment mechanisms) Using materials and components that minimize fragmentation risk during and after operations Incorporating reliable deployment mechanisms that don't generate debris Designing spacecraft structures to minimize the chance of break-up from internal energy sources Including end-of-life disposal capabilities in the original design Creating passivation systems to neutralize energy sources (batteries, propellants) at mission's end Designing spacecraft that can fully burn up during atmospheric re-entry
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