Space: The Final Junkyard

Space is vast, wondrous and full of beauty. It's also full of rubbish. Our rubbish.

Since 1957, when the USSR launched Sputnik 1 into orbit, thousands of satellites have been launched into space. Whilst some of them are operational, many have failed over time remaining in orbit as floating junk... and potentially devastating debris.

Today, it is estimated that over 19,000 objects larger than 10 centimetres in diameter are spinning around around the Earth at speeds of up to 22,000 mph. This is not including the millions of nuts, bolts, scrap metal and other random parts and pieces of assorted space missions. The Earth's atmosphere is a literal historical junk-yard with the potential to endanger future space missions and the lives of astronauts.

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Despite both NASA and the European Space Agency diverting ground based radar stations and telescopes to track space debris, much of it is impossible to detect. Scientists believe that paint flecks and other small metallic particles smaller than 1cm exist in their tens of millions, each with the potential of hitting a spacecraft or astronaut with the velocity and devastation of a .22 calibre rifle bullet.

It makes you wonder how the space shuttle ever makes it back to Earth in one piece and why the International Space Station isn't being constantly pulverised by random space junk. The good news is that most space junk is between 550 and 625 miles above the Earth, while the International Space Station flies in orbit at 250 miles above Earth. Generally, space shuttles usually only reach about 375 miles high making them relatively safe.

The bad news, however, is that a recent NASA study forecast a ten-fold increase in the probability of collision with debris over the next 200 years. This will come about from satellites colliding and exploding in orbit into thousands of pieces.

The obvious solution is to clean up the mess we've left behind, but this is easier said than done.

While the likes of China having successfully downed satellites with missiles, this has always created more debris so groups such as the United Nations Space Debris Mitigation have dedicated themselves to find a solution to the problem of space junk.

Brian Weeden, Technical Consultant for the Secure World Foundation said, "at some point we will need to actively remove debris from orbit. Fortunately, new studies are showing that removing as few as five or six objects per year could stabilize the debris population over the long term."

"The big question right now is which objects to remove first and what is the best method to do so."

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