Space Debris

Home News Spaceflight China's Long March 5B rocket launches the new Wentian module of the Tiangong space station to Earth orbit on Sunday, July 24. (Image credit: CGTN) The newest piece of big Chinese space junk will fall back to Earth around the end of the month, experts predict. The…

SPACE SMASH Charlotte Edwards, Senior Technology and Science Reporter22:22, 20 Jul 2022Updated: 22:31, 20 Jul 2022NASA'S $10billion James Webb Space Telescope has suffered damage after a meteoroid struck its mirrors. The US space agency was aware of the impact in May but has just released a paper and images. 2…

Home News Spaceflight Artist's illustration of space junk orbiting Earth. (Image credit: NASA) It's only a matter of time before someone is killed by falling space junk. The toll taken by space debris so far includes an Indonesian livestock pen's fence crushed by a stray fuel tank, a house in…

The accumulation of junk which is damaging to the environment isn’t only a problem here on Earth: it’s also a problem in space. Every year more and more discarded rocket stages, broken satellites, and other bits of debris are put into orbit around our planet, and not all of them…

From magnets to harpoons, various methods have been proposed and tested over the years to eliminate the growing problem of space junk. One researcher is leading efforts in a more sci-fi direction: lasers. Space junk is a well-documented and growing problem. Now more than ever, modern life is underpinned by…

Home News Tech China unfolded a deorbit sail in space following a Long March 2D rocket launch in June 2022. (Image credit: SAST) China has unfolded a large sail attached to a rocket component following a recent launch, as part of tests designed to help reduce the amount of space…

Space junk is a massive problem for NASA and other space agencies. Back in March, we reported on three tons of space junk hurtling towards the Moon. The junk was set to hit the side of the Moon facing away from our planet. Since those initial reports, more believe the…

Pic When space junk crashed into the Moon earlier this year, it made not one but two craters on the lunar surface, judging from images revealed by NASA on Friday. Astronomers predicted a mysterious object would hit the Moon on March 4 after tracking the debris for months. The object…

by Jeff Foust — June 24, 2022 X Prize Foundation CEO Anousheh Ansari (left) discusses a proposed competition for active debris removal during a panel discussion at the Summit for Space Sustainability June 23. Credit: Secure World Foundation webcast WASHINGTON — The X Prize Foundation is considering a prize competition…

Home News Spaceflight The International Space Station as pictured from a SpaceX Crew Dragon during a November 2021 fly around. (Image credit: NASA) A piece of space junk from a Russian anti-satellite weapons test forced the International Space Station to maneuver to avoid the orbital debris on Thursday (June 16). …