space debris

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NASA Watched 'Helplessly' as 2 Satellites Got Perilously Close

Space agency's TIMED spacecraft, defunct Russian satellite came within 65 feet of each other last week

(Newser) - Last week, a NASA satellite "almost got clobbered high above Earth." That's the scoop from Space.com , which reports on a near collision last Wednesday between the space agency's Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics (TIMED) research spacecraft, which has been in space studying data since...

Dish Network Hit With First-Ever Space Junk Fine

Company fined $150K for leaving satellite too low

(Newser) - Satellite TV provider Dish Network has chalked up a first in telecommunications history, but it's not one the Colorado-based company is likely to brag about. The Federal Communications Commission has penalized the company $150,000 in the agency's first-ever fine connected to space junk, the BBC reports. The...

Mystery Object That Washed Up on Aussie Beach Identified
Mystery Object
That Washed Up on
Aussie Beach Identified
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Aug 5, 2023 4:15 PM CDT

Mystery Object That Washed Up on Aussie Beach Identified

Australian Space Agency says it's space junk from Indian rocket; India's space group needs to confirm

(Newser) - The mystery of a giant metal object that washed up on an Australian beach may finally be solved. Phys.org reports that when the "bulky, barnacle-encrusted cylinder" turned up in mid-July on the shores of Green Head, located north of Perth in Western Australia, whispers circulated that it could...

Weird Cylinder Washes Up on Australian Beach
Psst, India, You May
Have Dropped Something
in case you missed it
Jul 22, 2023 3:00 PM CDT

Psst, India, You May Have Dropped Something

Large, mysterious cylinder washes up on Australian beach, and it may be space junk

(Newser) - The mystery of a large and unidentified object that baffled beachgoers in Australia may have been solved: Authorities suspect the cylindrical object is a piece of junk from a foreign rocket, reports ABC Australia . The whatever-it-is is about the size of a small car, notes the AP , and it washed...

Don't Look Up: NASA Satellite Is Hurtling Toward Earth
NASA Satellite Falls
Harmlessly to Earth
UPDATED
Jan 9, 2023 11:58 AM CST

NASA Satellite Falls Harmlessly to Earth

NASA says Earth Radiation Budget Satellite reentered off the coast of Alaska

(Newser) - After almost 40 years circling Earth, a retired NASA science satellite plunged harmlessly through the atmosphere off the coast of Alaska, NASA reported Monday. The Defense Department confirmed that the 5,400-pound satellite—placed in orbit in 1984 by astronaut Sally Ride—reentered late Sunday night over the Bering Sea,...

For 2nd Time This Year, ISS Dodges Space Junk

Debris is from Russian missile test that was condemned as 'reckless'

(Newser) - Astronauts aboard the International Space Station conducted a "pre-determined debris avoidance maneuver" Monday night to steer clear of a piece of space junk. Per NPR , the station fired its thrusters for five minutes and five seconds, increasing its altitude by 0.2 miles to 0.8 miles (depending on...

'Alien Obelisk' Actually Fell From Space
'Alien Obelisk'
Actually Fell
From Space
in case you missed it
Aug 7, 2022 7:08 AM CDT

'Alien Obelisk' Actually Fell From Space

Piece likely jettisoned from SpaceX Dragon capsule fell in southern Australia last month

(Newser) - From a distance, Mick Miners thought the strange object on his expansive sheep farm in Australia might have been a blackened dead tree. Experts say it's actually something far more exciting: a 9-foot-long chunk of a SpaceX capsule—one of the few pieces of space debris to fall to...

Space Telescope Hit by 'Unavoidable Chance Event'

NASA says it's still performing above expectations after micrometeoroid strike

(Newser) - The massive mirror on the James Webb Space Telescope has been hit by what NASA calls an "unavoidable chance event"—a strike from a piece of space debris larger than they expected. NASA says one of the mirror's segments was hit by a micrometeoroid, which it defines...

China: Rocket Set to Crash Into Moon Isn't Ours

Experts disagree, say Chang'e-5T1 booster will make impact March 4

(Newser) - China is denying responsibility for a wayward rocket expected to crash into the far side of the moon next month. Though the rocket was initially misidentified as a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that failed to return to Earth after launching a weather satellite in 2015, experts— including those at NASA'...

Russia Confirms Space Test, NASA Calls It 'Unconscionable'

Moscow confirms it blew up a satellite, resulting in space debris

(Newser) - Update: Russia has confirmed that it blew up an old satellite in space with a ground-based missile in a test of new technology. NASA issued a scathing condemnation of the test, saying it generated a dangerous amount of space debris, reports NBC News . NASA Administrator Bill Nelson called it "...

China's Rocket Debris Set for Uncontrolled Re-Entry

21-ton Long March rocket core will crash at an unknown location within days

(Newser) - Last week's launch of the Tianhe space station module was a great leap forward for China's space program—but the Long March 5B rocket used for the launch could cause some major problems back on Earth. The 21-ton core of the rocket is now orbiting Earth and slowly...

SpaceX Retrieves Piece of Debris a Farmer Discovered

It left a nearly 4-inch dent in the ground

(Newser) - A piece of burning rocket debris seen streaking across the Pacific Northwest sky last week crashed on a farm in eastern Washington state, authorities said. After the March 25 event, a farmer discovered a nearly intact piece of rocket in a private field, the Tri-City Herald reported. The approximately 5-foot...

On the Horizon: a Satellite Made of Wood?

Japan hopes project will cut down on space debris

(Newser) - When satellites burn up in the atmosphere, they don't entirely disappear. Tiny pieces of aluminium remain, contributing to an increasing mass of space junk. According to Daniel Oltrogge, director at the Center for Space Standards and Innovation, there are an estimated 760,000 objects larger than a centimeter (0....

The ISS' End Will Be Fiery, but Not Fiery Enough
The ISS
Is Doomed
to Die by Fire
in case you missed it
Nov 7, 2020 2:30 PM CST

The ISS Is Doomed to Die by Fire

A look at how the International Space Station could come to its end

(Newser) - Monday marked two decades of humans occupying the International Space Station, but whether it'll make it to the end of its third decade remains unclear. Space.com explains that to stay in orbit, the ISS relies on fuel injections from the cargo ships that visit it. Such visits have...

A Huge Piece of Space Debris Falls to Earth Uncontrolled

Fortunately, it landed in the ocean

(Newser) - For a few hours Monday, a nearly 20-ton piece of space debris fell uncontrolled from the sky, passing over Los Angeles and New York City and causing a bit of stress for the experts tracking it before it safely splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean. "The problem is that...

Defunct Space Station Due to Fall to Earth This Weekend

Tiangong-1 is believed to be out of control

(Newser) - China's defunct and reportedly out-of-control Tiangong 1 space station is expected to re-enter Earth's atmosphere sometime this weekend. It poses only a slight risk to people and property on the ground, since most of the bus-size, 8.5-ton vehicle is expected to burn up on re-entry, although space...

New Prediction for When, Where Space Station Will Crash

Experts say there isn't anything to worry about ... probably

(Newser) - A 9.6-ton Chinese space station will likely crash somewhere on Earth around March, according to a new prediction made Wednesday by Aerospace. And while that sounds terrifying, a member of the team behind the prediction tells the New York Times the Tiangong-1 "most probably will not harm anyone,...

Space Station Shield Lost During Spacewalk

US astronauts 'MacGyvered' a solution

(Newser) - In space, nobody can hear you scream, "Oh no, there goes the shielding"—apart from Mission Control. American astronauts Peggy Whitson and Shane Kimbrough suffered a frustrating setback during a spacewalk Thursday when one of the four fabric shields they were installing on the exterior of the International...

Adopt a Piece of Space Junk, Get Its Tweets as It Flies By

Nearly 30K objects larger than 10cm are currently in orbit

(Newser) - The jury may be out on intelligent extraterrestrial life, but this we know: We are not alone. At least, we are surrounded by our own junk. In an effort to raise awareness about the dangers of the hundreds of millions of pieces of debris currently orbiting planet Earth, an interactive...

Video Reveals How Fast We've Amassed Space Junk

In just 60 years, Earth has become surrounded by 500K pieces of debris

(Newser) - More than 500,000 known objects are orbiting planet Earth, and around 20,000 of them are at least as big as a softball, reports NASA . Now a University College London professor has used data from space-track.org to create a video to help us visualize how quickly that space...

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