Post by Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe on Jan 21, 2006 1:50:57 GMT -6
Space Junk Cleanup Needed, NASA Experts Warn
Ninety-five percent of the objects represented by white dots in this computer-generated illustration are human-made debris. Scientists warn that the growing amount of space junk orbiting the Earth threatens the safety of human and robotic space missions.
Image courtesy NASA
January 19, 2006
Space is filling up with trash, and it's time to clean it up, NASA experts warn.
A growing amount of human-made debris—from rocket stages and obsolete satellites to blown-off hatches and insulation—is circling the Earth.
Since the launch of the Soviet Union's Sputnik I satellite in 1957, humans have been generating space junk.
The U.S. Space Surveillance Network is currently tracking over 13,000 human-made objects larger than four inches (ten centimeters) in diameter orbiting the Earth. These include both operational spacecraft and debris such as derelict rocket bodies.
"Of the 13,000 objects, over 40 percent came from breakups of both spacecraft and rocket bodies," Johnson said.
Full story here: news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/01/0119_060119_space_junk.html
============
