Space Debris

Authorities are investigating whether a cylindrical object about the size of a small car that washed up on an Australian beach is part of a foreign rocket. Police had cordoned off the object after it was discovered at Green Head about 150 miles north of the west coast city of…

It’s getting awfully crowded in low Earth orbit with more than 4,000 Starlink satellites currently in orbit and thousands more that will soon make their way up there. SpaceX’s internet satellites often stand in the way of orbiting spacecraft, defunct satellites, or space junk, racking up 50,000 potentially dangerous approaches…

A new method of tracking tiny pieces of space junk has passed its first demonstration test in orbit, according to its builders ODIN Space of London. Over the past two years, ODIN has been developing and qualifying technology to detect and track space junk that is too small to register…

Photos from low Earth orbit (LEO) are often strikingly beautiful. But what they typically fail to capture is the tens of thousands of debris pieces, or “space junk,” that orbit around Earth’s face like hungry mosquitoes—and threaten to hit satellites and other orbiting assets with enough force to be destructive.…

There are several companies working to develop solutions for space debris and some are working on refueling, recovering and reusing satellites. Outpost is working to make satellites re-usable. They plan to build in a heatshield (shown above) that would enable a satellite to return to earth. After re-entry, they want…

Published Jun 3rd, 2023 9:20PM EDT Image: Jose Luis Stephens / Adobe Sending a wooden satellite into space might not sound like a great idea. After all, there’s no way that wood is as durable as metal, is there? Well, according to an experiment led by researchers aboard the International…

Physics Devices based on quantum properties of very cold and very small crystals could be mounted on satellites and sense space debris that could collide with them By Karmela Padavic-Callaghan There are thousands of small pieces of junk orbiting Earth (as well as thousands of satellites) Shutterstock/Dima Zel Sensors based…

Artist’s concept of ClearSpace’s spacecraft approaching a piece of space debris from a previous Vega rocket launch in 2013. Credit: ClearSpace Swiss-based in-orbit servicing startup ClearSpace has contracted Arianespace to launch its first debris removal mission to capture and deorbit a 100-kilogram (220-pound) piece of space debris. Europe’s Vega C…

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Story by Thomas Macaulay Senior reporter Thomas is a senior reporter at TNW. He covers European tech, with a focus on deeptech, startups, and government policy. Thomas is a senior reporter at TNW. He covers European tech, with a focus on deeptech, startups, and government policy. The first active removal…