It is getting crowded in low Earth orbit, as space debris has become a major threat not only for satellites but also for the safe operations of the International Space Station (ISS). Currently, there are over 5500 satellites in space, of which more than half no longer work. Old satellites regularly break apart, and as a result, we now have now some 934,000 debris objects larger than 1 cm zooming around the Earth. These objects are a threat to the operational satellites we all rely on every day for communications, navigation and weather forecast.
During Ratio Presents: Space Debris on 13 Octoboer 2020 – Michel van Pelt and Stella Tkachova gave us more information about the space debris, why are they such a big issue and what solutions can we apply to stop the growth of space debris and lower the number of dangerous objects in orbit.
