Skip to content
space debris

File:Black_Knight_Satellite_(cropped).jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

EntityQ275450· pop 64· linked from 4,548 articles

space debris

Sign in to save

Also known as space junk, space litter, space trash, space waste, space garbage, space footprint

defunct artificial object or collection of such objects in space

AI overview

Space debris consists of defunct artificial objects and fragments left behind in space, such as old satellites and spent rocket stages that are no longer in use. This matters because these objects travel at extremely high speeds and can collide with active satellites and spacecraft, potentially causing damage or creating even more debris.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

~40 min read

Encyclopedic overview

A drifting thermal blanket photographed in 1998 during STS-88

Environment portal

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “space debris” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (12)