New efforts aim to track, remove space debris

New efforts aim to track, remove space debris: via @eetimes

New efforts aim to track, remove space debris Anne-Françoise PELE 9/21/2012 11:06 AM EDT PARIS – More than 500,000 pieces of space debris are orbiting the Earth, and their rising number increases the potential danger to all satellites. NASA estimates there are more than 20,000 pieces of space debris larger than a softball orbiting the Earth. Traveling at 17,500 mph, a relatively small piece of orbital debris could do serious damage to another satellite or a spacecraft. Moreover, There are many millions of pieces of debris that are so small they can’t be tracked. International interest in cleaning up space debris has increased in recent years, especially after the 2009 collision between U.S. and Russian communication satellites at almost 790 km over Siberia, creating over 1,000 pieces of space debris. Most recently in March 2012, a piece of debris from a Russian Cosmos sate...

Full article: http://www.eetimes.com/design/military-aerospace-design/4...