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.
A "House of Cards" is a wonderful English phrase that it seems is now primarily associated with a Netflix political drama. However, its original meaning is of a system that is fundamentally unstable. It's also the term Sarah ...
Space Exploration
Dec 15, 2025
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There are already tens of thousands of pieces of large debris in orbit, some of which pose a threat to functional satellites. Various agencies and organizations have been developing novel solutions to this problem, before ...
Space Exploration
Dec 11, 2025
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China routinely sends astronauts to and from its space station Tiangong. A crew capsule is about to undock from the station and return to Earth, but there's nothing routine about its journey home.
Space Exploration
Dec 4, 2025
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High up in Earth's orbit, millions of human-made objects large and small are flying at speeds of over 15,000 miles per hour. The objects, which range from inactive satellites to fragments of equipment resulting from explosions ...
Space Exploration
Dec 4, 2025
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Three Chinese astronauts returned from their nation's space station Friday after more than a week's delay because the return capsule they had planned to use was damaged, likely from being hit by space debris.
Space Exploration
Nov 14, 2025
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Early one February morning in 2025, Adam Borucki discovered something extraordinary behind his warehouse in Poland: a charred metal tank, roughly 1.5 meters across. It had crashed from space during the night, part of a SpaceX ...
Space Exploration
Nov 13, 2025
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China's Shenzhou-20 spacecraft took a hit from a piece of space debris floating through orbit, causing Chinese officials to delay the spacecraft's return from its Tiangong space station in early November 2025.
Space Exploration
Nov 13, 2025
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The stranded crew of a Chinese space mission is "in good condition, working and living normally," China's Manned Space Engineering office said on Tuesday.
Space Exploration
Nov 11, 2025
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A suspected strike by "tiny space debris" has delayed the return of the Chinese spaceship Shenzhou-20 and three astronauts, Beijing's space agency said on Wednesday.
Space Exploration
Nov 5, 2025
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We successfully plugged the hole in the ozone layer that was discovered in the 1980s by banning ozone-depleting substances such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). But, it seems we might be unintentionally creating another potential ...
Planetary Sciences
Oct 30, 2025
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