Space debris as a research area focuses on the characterization, modeling, monitoring, and mitigation of artificial objects orbiting Earth that are no longer functional, including defunct satellites, spent rocket bodies, and fragmentation products. It encompasses orbital dynamics and environment modeling, collision probability assessment, re-entry prediction, material response during breakup, and the long-term evolution of the debris population. Research addresses sensor technologies and data processing for tracking, space surveillance and tracking (SST) architectures, mitigation and remediation strategies (e.g., post-mission disposal, active debris removal), and the development of technical standards and guidelines to preserve the sustainability and safety of space operations.
The European Space Agency's short documentary film "Space Debris: Is it a Crisis?" on the state of space debris premiered at the 9th European Conference on Space Debris on 1 April 2025.
Planetary Sciences
Apr 1, 2025
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55
A stunning blue and white spiral spotted in skies across Europe late Monday was created by frozen fuel tumbling from a SpaceX rocket, according to weather forecasters and scientists.
Space Exploration
Mar 25, 2025
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75
MIT aerospace engineers have found that greenhouse gas emissions are changing the environment of near-Earth space in ways that, over time, will reduce the number of satellites that can sustainably operate there.
Space Exploration
Mar 10, 2025
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70
Nearly two months after an explosion sent flaming debris raining down on the Turks and Caicos, SpaceX launched another mammoth Starship rocket on Thursday, but lost contact minutes into the test flight as the spacecraft came ...
Space Exploration
Mar 7, 2025
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77
A University of Alaska Fairbanks scientist is participating in a U.S. government effort to design a satellite and instruments capable of detecting space debris as small as 1 centimeter, less than one-half inch.
Space Exploration
Feb 27, 2025
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63
Elon Musk's latest space-related hammer throw is to call for it to be deorbited as soon as two years from now.
Space Exploration
Feb 22, 2025
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489
Debris from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that blasted off in the United States on February 1 entered the Earth's atmosphere over Poland on Wednesday, the Polish space agency said.
Space Exploration
Feb 19, 2025
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47
Year after year, humanity is setting new records for the amount of stuff we're sending into the Earth's orbit, spurred mostly by Starlink's orbital domination. We're getting more eyes (satellites) on the sky, but we're also ...
Space Exploration
Feb 12, 2025
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35
Blue tentacle-like arms attached to an Astrobee free-flying robot grab onto a "capture cube" in this image from Feb. 4, 2025. The experimental grippers demonstrated autonomous detection and capture techniques that may be ...
Space Exploration
Feb 7, 2025
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48
There's a 26% annual chance that space rocket junk will re-enter the atmosphere and pass through a busy flight area, according to a UBC study. The study is published in the journal Scientific Reports.
Space Exploration
Feb 5, 2025
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35
