Space Junk: It's Getting Crowded Up There
Millions of pieces of debris from defunct satellites and spent rockets are orbiting earth. They pose a risk for future launches. But who's going to clear up all that space junk?
Pieces of exploded and defunct satellites and spent rockets are orbiting earth, moving as fast as seven kilometres per second, and there's no imminent plan to get rid of them. Nasa scientist and astrophysicist Donald Kessler tells us about the risk these objects pose to future launches. Wing Commander Allen Antrobus of the Royal Air Force and the UK Space Agency outlines options for their removal, and Elizabeth Quintana, director of military sciences at the Royal United Services Institute, shines a geopolitical light on the problem.
(Picture: Artist's impression (not to scale) of low earth orbit debris released in 2011 by the European Space Agency)
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- Tue 15 Dec 2015 08:32GMT91热爆 World Service except News Internet
- Tue 15 Dec 2015 15:06GMT91热爆 World Service except East and Southern Africa, News Internet & West and Central Africa
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