There are more than 5,400 satellites currently orbiting the Earth, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists, and some of them —plus other space junk — will inevitably fall back to the surface. Earlier this month, one did. Debris from a large Chinese rocket fell into the Indian Ocean — luckily, most of it burned up as it flew through the atmosphere.
As the amount of space debris grows exponentially, companies like New Hampshire-based Rogue Space Systems Corp. are developing new tools to service spacecraft in orbit or safely remove them from space. The company’s projects are funded by the U.S. Space Force.
By Hannah Green – Inno Reporter