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Space debris

A blue ball in a black field surrounded by white, tiny dots.

Got space junk? Wooden satellites may be the solution.

Science & Technology

Space junk — debris from defunct satellites and other man-made items — is a growing problem. Wooden satellites, an idea spearheaded by astronaut and professor Takao Doi of Kyoto University, may be the solution.

Now witness the firepower of this fully armed and operational space junk removal system. Just maybe not this exact one.

Astronauts could soon be blasting space junk with lasers

Science

NASA develops system to recycle space station waste into radiation-protecting tiles

Environment

Space junk orbiting Earth endangers satellites, spacecraft

Environment

Ecuador’s Satellite Involved in Space Fender Bender

Environment

Why Space Junk Needs to be Taken Seriously

Environment

Report by the NRC suggests it’s time to take space junk seriously.

Space Junk

Spent rocket stages and broken lens caps are just some of the junk littering Earth’s orbit, posing serious environmental and safety hazards. Host Steve Curwood talks with Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Smithsonian Observatory and contributing editor for Sky and Telescope magazine, about the dangers of littering in the final frontier.

Space Junk

Spent rocket stages and broken lens caps are just some of the junk littering Earth’s orbit, posing serious environmental and safety hazards. Host Steve Curwood talks with Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Smithsonian Observatory and contributing editor for Sky and Telescope magazine, about the dangers of littering in the final frontier.

The World

Space debris nearly plunges into International Space Station

Environment

Three astronauts on board the International Space Station had a bit of a scare when space debris whizzed by the space station. The Takeaway talks with Ben Baseley-Walker, a legal and policy consultant at the Secure World Foundation.