Space Junk On Rise

The Aerospace Corp. in El Segundo tracks space debris.

Space Junk Around Earth on the Rise, Experts Say

(space.com) The space around Earth is becoming more cluttered by the day with orbital junk that, if left unchecked, will pose an ever-increasing threat to current and future spacecraft, a panel of experts told a Congressional subcommittee on Tuesday.

While space debris levels rose this year after the Feb. 10 collision between U.S. and Russian satellites, more rigorous tracking and cleaner spacecraft could help avoid such orbital smashups in the future, the panelists said.

"The threat posed by orbital debris to the reliable operation of space systems will continue to grow unless the sources of space debris are brought under control," NASA's chief orbital debris scientist Nicholas Johnson told the House Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee in Washington, D.C.

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