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Every satellite, space probe, and crewed mission has the potential to produce space debris. The theoretical cascading Kessler syndrome becomes more likely as satellites in orbit increase in number. As of 2014, there were about 2,000 commercial and government satellites orbiting the Earth, [23] and as of 2021 more than 4,000. [24]
Strictly speaking, a satellite collision is when two satellites collide while in orbit around a third, much larger body, such as a planet or moon. This definition is typically loosely extended to include collisions between sub-orbital or escape-velocity objects with an object in orbit. Prime examples are the anti-satellite weapon tests.
The predicted time for the satellite entering the Earth’s atmosphere was originally 3.49pm GMT (10.49 EST) on Wednesday, however it remained orbiting the planet for up to an hour.
The maneuvers burned through the rest of the satellite’s fuel and decreased its altitude, setting ERS-2’s orbit on a trajectory to slowly spiral closer to Earth and reenter the atmosphere ...
Dead satellites either remain in orbit until they descend into Earth's atmosphere for a fiery demise years later, or in widely preferred - but less common - circumstances they fly to a "graveyard ...
While the number of satellites launched into orbit is relatively low in comparison to the amount of space available in orbit around the Earth, risky near-misses and occasional collisions happen. The 2009 satellite collision entirely obliterated both spacecraft and resulted in the creation of an estimated 1,000 new pieces of space debris larger ...
Saudi officials inspect a crashed PAM-D module in January 2001. Space debris usually burns up in the atmosphere, but larger debris objects can reach the ground intact. According to NASA, an average of one cataloged piece of debris has fallen back to Earth each day for the past 50 years.
This satellite had been deactivated prior to the collision, and remained in orbit as space debris. The other spacecraft, Iridium 33, was a 560-kilogram (1,200 lb) U.S.-built commercial satellite that was part of the Iridium constellation for satellite phones. [2] It was launched on September 14, 1997, atop a Russian Proton rocket.