May 1 2017, 11:33 am ET
Scientists Have Some Pretty Wild Ideas for Preventing Space Junk Armageddon
by Corey S. Powell
In almost 60 years of space activities, more than 5,250 launches have resulted in some 42,000 tracked objects in orbit. Photo Illustration: ESA
Retired NASA scientist Don Kessler found himself in an all-too-familiar role at last month's European Conference on Space Debris: warning of an environmental crisis unfolding above our heads. Six decades of rocket launches have left behind a vast trash heap in orbit around Earth. There are now some 750,000 objects larger than a half-inch, all whipping around the planet at about 20,000 mph. At that speed, the impact of a small nut or bolt carries the wallop of a hand grenade. Even a pinhead-size chip of paint (there may be 100 million such bits up there) hits like a 22-caliber bullet.
For any satellite or astronaut working in space, it's a serious problem.
http://www.nbcnews.com/mach/space/scientists-have-some-pretty-wild-ideas-preventing-space-junk-armageddon-n752641
