Every Space Debris Orbiting the Earth

Source: Preyash Shah

Insights

• Around 14,000 debris pieces are orbiting Earth, excluding millions of untracked fragments. Major contributors are Russia (4,521), the United States (4,317), and China (4,137).

• Single events can generate thousands of debris pieces. China's 2007 Anti-satellite test created 3,500 fragments, while the 2009 Russian-US collision produced over 2,000.

• Some space agencies like the European Space Agency are also making plans to ensure their space technology is designed with safe disposal plans to significantly reduce the accumulation of space junk.

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