December 9–12, 2019 Sugar Land, Texas, USA The goal of the conference is to highlight orbital debris research activities in the United States and to foster collaborations with the international community. The 4-day conference will cover all aspects of micro-meteoroid and orbital debris research, mission support, and other activities. Register for the Conference Here

Read more "NASA is Hosting the First International Orbital Debris Conference"

India’s space agency (ISRO) launched a missile at their own satellite, Microstat-R, in an orbit below 300km in an anti-satellite test. NASA’s Administrator Jim Bridenstine said the U.S. had identified 400 pieces of debris from the test and that 24 pieces of debris are known to have landed in orbits above the ISS, which orbits […]

Read more "NASA: Indian Anti-Missile Test Increased Orbital Debris and Threat to ISS, Set Dangerous Precedent"

Our sister site, StellarGenesis.com has launched! Head over there and check out what the team has been working on: Project DataFromDust, which seeks to build a scientific instrument to be included in an upcoming NASA lunar mission. Stellar Genesis is a collaborative space technology development organization founded in the idea that everyone has something to […]

Read more "Stellar Genesis is off the ground!"

Firstly, if you’re still unsure of why we need to do anything about a bunch of junk way out in space, check out this useful video by the ESA explaining the critical nature of space junk: Now, that video is about a year out of date, and since then awareness of the problem has arisen […]

Read more "European countries are actively working on clearing space debris."

One might assume that the largest space debris would be the most dangerous.  While high budget films and fantastical scenarios may lead one to this conclusion, it is actually the smaller space debris which can do the most damage. For large debris, the International Space Station and other satellites can take evasive maneuvers and avoid impact. […]

Read more "Big Things Come in Small Packages: JEM-EUSO Innovation Could Protect ISS From Small Debris"

In another testament to the need for space cleanup, last Thursday astronauts aboard the International Space Station were in danger of being blown to bits by space junk. For reasons I’m still investigating, NASA was unable to spot an old Russian satellite headed for the ISS until about an hour and a half before it was […]

Read more "Astronauts Aboard ISS Hunker Down in Soyuz As Orbital Debris Passes Close By"

Texas A&M is conducting research into the idea of a using a slingshot technique to throw space junk into a decay orbit. The slingshot satellite, or Sling-Sat as they’ve named it, would intercept a piece of space debris, “catch” it, and then “throw” it back towards the Earth and into a decay orbit. The Sling-Sat […]

Read more "The Slingshot: More Than Just A Childhood Toy, It May Help Clean Up Space"

Spacebook is a nifty tool for the average space-junker. It provides a model of debris around the Earth, and you can sort the debris by status (Backup or Standby, Extended Mission, Nonoperational, Operational, Partially Operational, Spare), orbit (look in the background to see anything outside of low earth orbit), mission (Communications, Early Warning, Navigation, Surveillance, Weather, etc.), owner (country), and by a few other specifications […]

Read more "Spacebook: The Everyday Man’s Option for Space Debris Tracking"