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Space junk, get your space junk here | NEWS.com.au

Space junk, get your space junk here
news.com.au By Kim Powell October 01, 2008 – “……………………………

We’ve made a big mess down here, so it’s no surprise that we’ve dirtied space too.

Thousands of probes and satellites have been sent up into space since 1957, and each mission leaves debris behind.

The BBC reports this “blanket of junk” orbiting the Earth at 40,233km/h consists of jettisoned spacecraft parts, abandoned satellites, paint chips, nuclear reactor cores and nuts and bolts. NASA frequently replaces windows damaged by flying paint chips.

The Centre for Orbital and Reentry Debris Studies estimates there are around 70,000 objects 2cm in size orbiting 850-1000 km above the Earth. NASA believes much of this is frozen pieces of nuclear reactor coolant leaking from disused Russian satellites.

Space junk, get your space junk here | NEWS.com.au

Tags: nuclear, antinuclear, uranium, radioactive

October 1, 2008 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | wastes