Space debris refers to defunct human-made objects in orbit around Earth, including spent rocket stages, dead satellites, and fragments produced by collisions, explosions and deliberate anti-satellite tests. Because objects in low Earth orbit travel at several kilometers per second, even a small fragment can cripple or destroy an operational spacecraft on impact, and the population of tracked debris has grown large enough to threaten a runaway cascade of further collisions, a scenario described by the Kessler syndrome. Tracking networks catalog tens of thousands of objects large enough to observe, while a far greater number of smaller untracked fragments also pose a hazard.
Facts
Concept Domain Formulated YearMarks when space debris began accumulating in Earth orbit (the launch of Sputnik 1), not a theory formulated on a date: space debris is a physical byproduct of spaceflight rather than a proposed concept. Proposed ByNot attributable to one individual; space debris is a natural byproduct of spaceflight rather than a proposed theory, addressed institutionally (for example NASA own Orbital Debris Program) rather than by a single named originator. 1 Connections
Associated With
The International Space Station has repeatedly maneuvered to avoid tracked debris.
Sources
1. Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Wikimedia Foundation- Concept Domain: Space Environment
- Formulated Year: 1957
- Proposed By: Not attributable to one individual; space debris is a natural byproduct of spaceflight rather than a proposed theory, addressed institutionally (for example NASA own Orbital Debris Program) rather than by a single named originator.
Space debris (Wikipedia)
Lead section
Space debris (also known as space junk, space pollution, space waste, space trash, space garbage, or cosmic debris) are defunct human-made objects in space - principally in Earth orbit - which no longer serve a useful function.
Space debris, History section, Sputnik 1 sentence
Space debris began to accumulate in Earth orbit with the launch of the first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, launched into orbit in October 1957.
Space debris, History section, Orbital Debris Program sentence
In 1979, NASA founded the Orbital Debris Program to research mitigation measures for space debris in Earth orbit.
In Group: Orbital Debris, Lead sentence
Space debris (also known as space junk, space pollution, space waste, space trash, space garbage, or cosmic debris) are defunct human-made objects in space, principally in Earth orbit, which no longer serve a useful function.
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