There are a lot of satellites, and a lot of trash, around our planet — and the quantities are only going to get higher.

There are roughly 1.1 million debris fragments larger than 0.04 inches and about 40,500 fragments larger than 4 inches in orbit according to the ESA. NASA states that debris can reach speeds of 18,000 ...

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 ...

If you buy through a BGR link, we may earn an affiliate commission, helping support our expert product labs. Earth’s space junk problem isn’t just growing—it’s accelerating. According to ...

At least three old satellites or rocket bodies fall back to Earth every day ... Kessler Syndrome and the space debris problem But on top of that, several orbital collisions and explosions added ...

Scientists say defunct satellites and spent rocket stages returning to Earth, from the thousands launched every year, can be ...

That problem will only ... on impact with other debris. Eventually, the ESA hopes to solidify a concept called "orbital capacity," which dictates how full low Earth orbit, medium Earth orbit ...

However, there is a growing problem right ... a long enough period, Earth’s orbit could be clogged by junk. The ESA states that the time to actively clean up our orbital ecosystem has come.

At least three old satellites or rocket bodies fall back to Earth ... the new junk consists of satellites that naturally reached the end of their lives. But on top of that, several orbital ...