Ask an Explainer
Q:
What happens to the particles of unused spacecrafts or broken pieces left in space?
A:
Space trash is actually a huge problem for us. Satelites, when they have completed their mission, sometimes stay in orbit around the Earth for a while and the collection is beginning to grow.
Usually, the orbit of space junk will gradually deterioate, and it will fall into our atmosphere and burn up on re-entry, but other bits keep wizzing around the earth, bumping into each other.
The orbital debris problem is being addressed and solutions to this problem are being debated.
Posted on December 31, 2015 at 9:52 pm
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