space junk (Page 2)

Latest in space junk

A Japanese astronaut was embarrassed when he got a picture of an errant toolbag instead of the iconic Mount Fuji.

Astronaut Tried to Photograph Mt. Fuji, Snapped Picture of Space Junk Instead

By Noor Al-Sibai

Japanese start-up EX-FUSION plans to use a powerful laser pulse to literally stop space junk in its tracks, safely de-orbiting it.

Startup Building Huge Laser to Shoot Down Space Junk From the Ground

By Frank Landymore

The International Space Station fired its thrusters to avoid incoming space junk yet again, a worrying sign the problem is getting worse.

Space Station Forced to Dodge Space Junk Again

By Victor Tangermann

The junk-on-junk collision created even more space junk, not to mention a headache for the scientists working on the ESA's clean up mission.

Attempt to Clean Up Space Junk Foiled When Cleanup Target Hit by Even More Space Junk

By Frank Landymore

During a spacewalk, Russian cosmonauts chucked an entire experiment into the abyss while cleaning the outside of the ISS.

Cosmonauts Litter Orbit With Entire Science Experiment During Spacewalk

By Noor Al-Sibai

From their experiments, the researchers calculate that their tractor beam could be used to move debris weighing several tons.

Scientists Experimenting With Actual Tractor Beam to Clean Up Space Junk

By Frank Landymore

After completing a seven-hour spacewalk, two Russian cosmonauts intentionally left a bundle of discarded hardware drift away into empty space.

Cosmonauts Caught Littering Directly Into Space During Spacewalk

By Victor Tangermann

Nearly 21 years after it was launched, NASA's RHESSI satellite is expected to reenter Earth's atmosphere. Chances it'll hit you are apparently "low."

This NASA Satellite Is Falling Back to Earth After 21 Years

By Maggie Harrison Dupré

Residents of Sacremento and Northern California at large were treated to fiery streaks soaring overhead. Magnificent, but with mundane origins.

Jettisoned From Space Station, Burning Space Junk Streaks Across California Sky

By Frank Landymore

According to the US Space Force, a mysterious Russian satellite broke apart in orbit early last month, leaving at least 85 pieces of space debris behind.

Mysterious Russian Satellite Explodes

By Maggie Harrison Dupré

An old Soviet-era rocket body almost collided with an errant military satellite, narrowly avoiding a huge disaster, according to tracking company LeoLabs.

Two Large Chunks of Space Debris Just Almost Collided in an Epic Disaster

By Victor Tangermann

China's in hot water after being accused of sabotaging a Philippine mission to retrieve Chinese rocket debris from that country's disputed waters.

Chinese Military Forcefully Seizes Debris That Philippines Recovered After It Fell From Space

By Noor Al-Sibai

Excess carbon dioxide is cooling the Earth's upper atmosphere, making it so that close-orbit objects like satellites and space junk stay in orbit longer.

Climate Change Is Apparently Doing Something Weird to Satellites

By Maggie Harrison Dupré

SpaceX debris keeps being found on Australian cattle farms — but at least the latest rancher to find a piece has a good sense of humor.

Even More SpaceX Debris Crashes Down on Another Cattle Farm

By Noor Al-Sibai

A sheep farmer in New South Wales, Australia, made a highly unusual discovery: a massive piece of a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, according to experts.

SpaceX Debris Allegedly Smashes Into Sheep Farm

By Victor Tangermann

Russia's Progress cargo spacecraft had to perform an unplanned engine burn to avoid debris left behind by one of the country's own satellites.

Russia Forced to Dodge Space Debris From When It Blew Up Satellite

By Victor Tangermann

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk reveled that some of the company's internet-beaming Starlink satellites had to swerve out of the way of space debris.

Elon Musk Says Starlink Satellites Had to Swerve Out of the Way of Debris

By Victor Tangermann

University of Utah's Jake Abbott predicts the Earth could soon look a lot like Saturn. "Earth is on course to have its own rings" made out of space junk.

Professor Says Earth Is Forming Saturn-Like Rings Made of Space Junk

By Victor Tangermann

Russia's Ministry of Defense is defending its reckless actions after blasting an old satellite into 1,500 trackable pieces of space debris.

Russia Says Actually It’s Fine That It Blew Up a Satellite, Filled Orbit With Deadly Space Junk

By Victor Tangermann

For the second time in a week, the International Space Station (ISS) has gotten close enough to an interstellar "debris cloud" to cause the team of astronauts aboard to take refuge in their exit spaceships.

ISS Astronauts Shelter in Escape Vehicles as Mysterious Debris Threatens Station

By Noor Al-Sibai

The International Space Station is maneuvering out of the way of space junk, which was created after China destroyed a derelict satellite in 2007.

ISS Forced to Dodge Debris From Chinese Anti-Satellite Weapon

By Victor Tangermann

Steve Wozniak's new venture called Privateer may be a space junk cleanup company — something that makes a lot of sense right now.

This Clue May Show What Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak Is Doing in Space

By Victor Tangermann

In a Saturday tweet, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk suggested that Starship might be a potential solution to the growing space junk problem.

Elon Musk Says New Spacecraft Will “Chomp Up” Space Junk

By Victor Tangermann

NASA administrator Bill Nelson has some strong feelings on the topic of space junk, as evidenced in a recent interview with CNN.

NASA Head Slams United States for “Shameful” Space Junk

By Victor Tangermann

Space junk reportedly blasted a hole in the side of Canadarm2, a robotic arm attached to the International Space Station.

Space Debris Blasts Hole in Space Station’s Robotic Arm

By Dan Robitzski

According to a recently presented preprint, climate change may be making our space junk problem even worse.

Climate Change May Be Making Space Junk Worse

By Victor Tangermann

New research suggests that orbital debris, to say nothing of still-operational satellite constellations, is impeding astronomers' work.

Science & Energy

Space Junk Is Literally Making the Sky Brighter, Astronomer Say

By Dan Robitzski

This morning's SpaceX launch went by without a hitch — but the crew of four did just experience a bit of a scare.

SpaceX’s Spacecraft Just Had a Near Collision With an Unidentified Object

By Victor Tangermann

A new satellite called ELSA-d will snare space junk and drag it to safety with a powerful magnet to help clean up low-Earth orbit.

Just-Launched Spacecraft Will Use Grappling Hook to Destroy Space Junk

By Dan Robitzski

Russian physicist Egor Loktionov is suggesting to use space-based lasers to melt non-operational satellites into plasma as a way to clean up Earth's orbit.

Russian Scientist Proposes Using Lasers to Melt Space Junk

By Victor Tangermann

The European Space Agency is planning to launch a massive claw designed to clean up larger pieces of space junk.

Europe Is Launching a Giant Claw to Grab Space Junk

By Victor Tangermann

A company called Nanoracks has a plan to gather up orbital space junk and convert it into new space stations through in-orbit manufacturing.

Space Company Wants to Turn Orbital Junk Into Space Stations

By Dan Robitzski

According to a TIME interview with SpaceX's president and COO Gwynne Shotwell, Starship could be used to help dispose of "dead rocket bodies" in orbit.

SpaceX President: Starship Could Help Pick Up Space Junk

By Victor Tangermann

Three percent of SpaceX's Starlink satellites seem to have failed. That's not bad, but it gets dangerous considering how big the constellation will become.

Science & Energy

Three Percent of SpaceX’s Starlink Satellites Died

By Dan Robitzski

Two massive pieces of space junk might crash into each other on Thursday night, potentially making low Earth orbit and even more dangerous minefield.

Science & Energy

Experts Predict Sizeable Chance of Epic Space Junk Collision Tonight

By Dan Robitzski

The European Space Agency's Space Debris Office is warning that the risk of space debris explosions in orbit is on the rise.

Space Debris Trackers Warn of “Explosions in Orbit”

By Victor Tangermann

The CEO of space startup Rocket Lab Peter Beck told CNN that space in Earth's orbit is becoming worryingly congested.

Space Startup CEO Warns That Orbit Is Filling Up With Space Startups

By Victor Tangermann

Russia's space agency Roscosmos announced on Sunday that the tanks of the Russian Fregat-SB upper stage have disintegrated in Earth's orbit.

Russian Rocket Disintegrates in Space, Leaving Orbital Debris

By Victor Tangermann

For the first time, two commercial spacecraft successfully docked while still in orbit: a service vehicle got a derelict satellite running again.

Science & Energy

Parasitic Spacecraft Docks With Dead Satellite, Brings It Back to Life

By Dan Robitzski

The European Space Agency has officially approved funding for ClearSpace-1 — the world's first mission dedicated to cleaning up space junk.

The ESA Is Sending a Robotic Junk Collector Into Space

By Kristin Houser

A Canadian space launch startup has partnered with commercial space services company to develop a way to reuse old rocket parts in space.

This Startup Wants to Turn Space Junk Into Orbital Hotels

By Victor Tangermann

We're littering an already-crowded space station environment and filling up valuable launch manifests with PR stunts. Knock it off, brands.

Brands Keep Sending Their Pointless Swag to the Space Station

By Victor Tangermann

Canada is accepting proposals for ways to remove space junk, the dangerous bits of old satellites and rockets currently orbiting the Earth.

Canada Wants Your Help Cleaning up Space Junk

By Kristin Houser

Six weeks after Indian authorities promised all of the debris created by their missile test was burned up in the atmosphere, 41 out of 400 pieces remain.

Dangerous Debris From India’s Exploded Satellite Still Orbiting Earth

By Victor Tangermann

A new space imaging system could prevent satellite collisions by monitoring the sky with unprecedented resolution during daylight hours.

“Game-Changing” Camera Could Prevent Satellite Collisions

By Kristin Houser

A team of engineers at the University of Surrey launched a 4.9 foot harpoon from a satellite at a piece of space debris to catch it out of the sky.

Watch a Harpoon Attached to a Satellite Spear a Piece of Space Debris

By Victor Tangermann

Scientists Want to Use a Plasma Beam to Push Space Junk Out of Orbit

Scientists Want to Use a Plasma Beam to Push Space Junk Out of Orbit

By Kristin Houser

UK researchers are now testing RemoveDEBRIS, a satellite designed to trap space debris in a net so it can be removed before it damages spacecraft.

UK Researchers Just Deployed a Massive Net to Catch Space Debris

By Kristin Houser

An Experimental Space Junk Collector Is On Its Way to the ISS

An Experimental Space Junk Collector Is On Its Way to the ISS

By Claudia Geib

The Chinese Space Station Has Crashed in the Pacific. Why Was It So Hard to Track?

The Chinese Space Station Has Crashed in the Pacific. Why Was It So Hard to Track?

By Claudia Geib

space debris space junk

Reconsidering Space Debris: Can Space Junk Be Useful?

orbital laser stations

Researchers Propose Using Lasers to Zap Potentially Dangerous Space Debris

By Chelsea Gohd

Startup Gets Funding to Clean Up Our Orbital Space Junk

Startup Gets Funding to Clean Up Our Orbital Space Junk

By Christianna Reedy

The Space Debris Problem: Dual Impact in Myanmar Shows What’s to Come

The Space Debris Problem: Dual Impact in Myanmar Shows What’s to Come