---
title: "The Air Force Wants Your Help Guarding Satellites From Space Junk"
description: "There's a lot of space junk orbiting the planet. The Air Force just put out a call for high-tech ways to keep track of it all."
date: "2018-10-30"
modified: "2018-10-30"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/air-force-track-space-junk-satellites"
categories:
  - "Off-World"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "air force"
  - "satellites"
  - "space"
  - "the digest"
---

# The Air Force Wants Your Help Guarding Satellites From Space Junk

![There's a lot of space junk orbiting the planet. The Air Force just put out a call for high-tech ways to keep track of it all.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/air-force-track-satellites.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: ESA\</em\>*

## Space Junk

There’s a whole lot of crap orbiting our planet: hundreds of satellites, an [obscene amount of debris](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/space-junk-plasma-beam>) and space garbage, a space station, one natural moon — you get the picture.

Now the U.S. Air Force says it needs to find a better way to keep track of it all, so it just launched a contest looking for new high-tech solutions — especially ones that help protect satellites from space junk.

## Garbage Day

The Air Force’s “[Visionary Q Prize Competition](<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHzvAQ7GzC4&feature=youtu.be>)” calls for new ways to spot and track space junk as it orbits the Earth, and will accept submissions through mid-January, [according to *SpaceNews*](<https://spacenews.com/air-force-launches-100k-challenge-for-space-awareness-innovators/>).

Any team that offers up a good solution — such as tracking space garbage with virtual reality tech — may get a share of the $100,000 prize.

## Hide-and-Seek

Ideas for getting rid of all the junk orbiting the planet have ranged [from large nets](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/removedebris-space-debris>) to [death rays](<https://futurism.com/laser-space-russia-vaporize-satellites>).

Contestants don’t necessarily need to find a way to clear out the space crap — the Air Force just wants to know where all of it is so they can safely launch more rockets and satellites without fear of collision.

**READ MORE**: [Air Force launches $100K challenge for ‘space awareness innovators’](<https://spacenews.com/air-force-launches-100k-challenge-for-space-awareness-innovators/>) \[*SpaceNews*\]

***More on space junk: [Russia Wants to Vaporize Space Junk With a Laser. There Is No Way This Will Go Wrong.](<https://futurism.com/laser-space-russia-vaporize-satellites>)***

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)