Space Pollution

Space Junk

Pollution in Earth Orbit: Why technological innovation and increased cooperation regarding space debris are vital

• http://www.thespacereview.com/article/3438/1

There are more than 500,000 tracked objects larger than a marble, and millions of smaller untrackable objects orbiting the Earth at speeds of up to 28,000 kilometers per hour. The US government’s Space Surveillance Network (SSN) uses approximately 30 sensors around the world to track and catalogue the positions and velocities of more than 16,000 of these objects orbiting the Earth. The tracking system registers around 400,000 observations per day, tracking objects as small as five centimeters in LEO (Low Earth Orbit) and as large as one meter in geosynchronous orbit.