Space Debris

Oops. Dropping a mirror on Earth is only minor cause for concern, perhaps about the potential of some upcoming bad luck. Dropping a mirror while on a spacewalk means creating a potentially dangerous new piece of space junk, all while thousands of people watch it happen, streaming live.   A…

The threat posed by space junk is growing — and the window for mitigating it is closing. Experts say the U.S. hasn't done enough to combat the growing problem.Why it matters: Companies like SpaceX are working to launch hundreds of small satellites to already crowded orbits. Even if just a…

A green fireball appeared in the skies over Australia earlier this week and experts can’t seem to explain what it was. It’s thought that the object was natural in origin and not a manmade piece of space junk, but the jury is still out. Many fireballs explode in the atmosphere,…

Home News Science & Astronomy A streak of blue light that flashed across the sky on Monday surprised western Australia's night owls and befuddled the astronomy community. The blue fireball was seen at 1 a.m. local time on June 15, according to ABC News Pilbara. "It was really a spectacular observation,"…

Carolin Frueh and her students are helping to identify problems with satellites in space based on how they reflect sunlight. Credit: Purdue University photo/Rebecca McElhoe No satellite stays the same once launched into space. How much it changes can go unnoticed—until something bad happens. Carolin Frueh is among only a…

StartRocket wants to create sticky “spiderweb” satellites that can spray space junk with polymeric ... foam that will then sink safely burn-up in the atmosphere. StartRocket After more than half a century of space activity there are about half a million man-made “things” orbiting our planet. Trash, debris, junk. These…

The greenish-blue fireball, as seen during the early hours of June 15 in Australia. Image: Shaz Hussien/FacebookA greenish-blue fireball streaked across the skies over Australia last night, in an event captured by awe-struck observers on the ground.The object appeared shortly before 1:00 a.m. local time, with witness accounts reported from…

The first batch of 60 high-speed Starlink internet satellites, each weighing about 500 pounds, flat-packed into a stack before their launch aboard a Falcon 9 rocket on May 23, 2019.SpaceX via TwitterSpaceX recently launched NASA astronauts to the International Space Station in the first-ever crewed commercial spaceflight.But Elon Musk has…

SpaceX recently launched NASA astronauts to the International Space Station in the first-ever crewed commercial spaceflight.But Elon Musk has not slowed down the company's other projects: SpaceX is set to launch three batches of Starlink satellites this month.The project aims to blanket the planet in high-speed, affordable internet via a…

We've made no bones about the fact that we have a huge ton of respect for Watchmen series creator Damon Lindelof, starting back during the Lost days. As much as we obsess over whether or not he'll be returning to the universe of his pseudo-sequel to Alan Moore, David Gibbons, and John…