Space Junk Blocks Our Way to the Stars
As orbital debris multiplies, scientists scramble for ways to clean up the mess. Here come the space garbage trucks.
Danger lurks in Earth’s orbit as thousands of rogue objects speed around the planet—and you can’t exactly call a guy with a truck to come sweep it all up.
These aren’t stray pebbles—they’re bits and pieces of all the junk we’ve shot up there in the 60 years since Sputnik, from tiny specks of metal to larger, conversation-enders—all traveling thousands of miles per hour. A basic step for space operators is to track debris and steer vehicles clear, be they unmanned satellites, rockets with humans, or even the International Space Station. In the future, however, some altitudes may require active cleaning measures, like a well-meaning relative sent to empty out an uncle’s garage before it becomes a fire hazard.