RTN3d ago

#BreakingDefense:
"
China dumping more rocket bodies in space, endangering low Earth orbit satellites: Report
"
"Three Chinese rocket bodies have exploded over the last four years, creating dangerous debris that "will linger for decades to centuries, potentially colliding with other space objects," LeoLabs study author Darren McKnight told ..."

https://breakingdefense.com/2026/06/china-dumping-more-rocket-bodies-in-space-endangering-low-earth-orbit-satellites-report/

25.6.2026

#China #Debris #LeoLabs #Rakete #rocketry #Raumfahrt #SpaceJunk #SpaceFlight #Weltraummüll #Weltraumschrott

China dumping more rocket bodies in space, endangering low Earth orbit satellites: Report

Three Chinese rocket bodies have exploded over the last four years, creating dangerous debris that "will linger for decades to centuries, potentially colliding with other space objects," LeoLabs study author Darren McKnight told Breaking Defense.

Breaking Defense
Where are we now?6d ago

A WEEK IN ORBITAL HOARDING
26/2026

🌐️ CATALOGED OBJECTS IN ORBIT: 34,261 (+140)
🛰 Active spacecraft: 16,293 (+128)
💤 Nonoperational spacecraft: 3,012 (+3)
🚀 Rocket bodies: 2,411 (+6)
❓ Unknown objects: 49
🗑️ Debris >10 cm: 12,496 (+3)

20 cataloged objects were officially confirmed as reentered since the last update.

#Orbit #Satcat #CelesTrak #Satellite #SpaceDebris #SpaceJunk #OrbitalHoarding

AI6YR BenJun 20

Vandenberg SFB Launch Alert

The U.S. Space Force has approved the launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Starlink 17-28 mission to low-Earth orbit, Sunday morning, June 21, 2026, between 7:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. PT from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4).

#VandenbergSFB #spacejunk #space #launch #sonicboom #SantaBarbaraCounty

Dr. Jürgen KnödlsederJun 17

Bravo pour ce lancement réussi de l’Ariane 6. Ainsi l’Europe fait sa part dans la pollution du ciel nocturne. #SpaceJunk #IlNeFaitPasDejaAssezChaudCommeCaHein

https://www.franceinfo.fr/sciences/espace/direct-regardez-le-premier-vol-d-ariane-6-dans-sa-version-a-4-propulseurs_7800755.html

Ariane 6 : succès intégral pour la première mission de la fusée européenne en version quatre propulseurs, qui a mis sur orbite 32 satellites

"C'est un jalon extrêmement important pour nous. Ariane 6 est prêt à assurer toutes les missions, même les missions les plus complexes", s'est félicité jeudi soir David Cavaillolès, président exécutif d'Arianespace.

franceinfo
RTNJun 16

#arstechnica:
"
A Chinese rocket breaks apart dangerously close to the Starlink constellation

The rocket’s breakup likely generated 100 to 150 new pieces of space junk.
"
".. breakup occurred .. perhaps around the time the upper stage was expected to perform a disposal burn."

https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/06/a-chinese-rocket-breaks-apart-dangerously-close-to-the-starlink-constellation

15.6.2026

#China #Debris #LandSpace #Rakete #Raumfahrt #rocketry #SpaceFlight #SpaceJunk #Weltraummüll #Weltraumschrott #Zhuque2E #ZQ2E

A Chinese rocket breaks apart dangerously close to the Starlink constellation

The rocket's breakup likely generated 100 to 150 new pieces of space junk.

Ars Technica
Where are we now?Jun 16

A WEEK IN ORBITAL HOARDING
25/2026

🌐️ CATALOGED OBJECTS IN ORBIT: 34,121 (+66)
🛰 Active spacecraft: 16,165 (+66)
💤 Nonoperational spacecraft: 3,009 (+3)
🚀 Rocket bodies: 2,405 (+2)
❓ Unknown objects: 49
🗑️ Debris >10 cm: 12,493 (-5)

26 cataloged objects were officially confirmed as reentered since the last update.

#Orbit #Satcat #CelesTrak #Satellite #SpaceDebris #SpaceJunk #OrbitalHoarding

Where are we now?Jun 9

A WEEK IN ORBITAL HOARDING
24/2026

🌐️ CATALOGED OBJECTS IN ORBIT: 34,055 (+110)
🛰 Active spacecraft: 16,099 (+121)
💤 Nonoperational spacecraft: 3,006
🚀 Rocket bodies: 2,403 (-4)
❓ Unknown objects: 49 (-2)
🗑️ Debris >10 cm: 12,498 (-5)

26 cataloged objects were officially confirmed as reentered since the last update.

#Orbit #Satcat #CelesTrak #Satellite #SpaceDebris #SpaceJunk #OrbitalHoarding

Where are we now?Jun 2

A WEEK IN ORBITAL HOARDING
23/2026

🌐️ CATALOGED OBJECTS IN ORBIT: 33,945 (+62)
🛰 Active spacecraft: 15,978 (+67)
💤 Nonoperational spacecraft: 3,006 (-4)
🚀 Rocket bodies: 2,407 (+4)
❓ Unknown objects: 51
🗑️ Debris >10 cm: 12,503 (-5)

24 cataloged objects were officially confirmed as reentered since the last update.

#Orbit #Satcat #CelesTrak #Satellite #SpaceDebris #SpaceJunk #OrbitalHoarding

Alaska Headline LivingMay 29
🛰️ These lines aren’t stars. They are satellites moving through telescope images during observation, leaving behind streaks that scientists now have to account for in their data.
With low Earth orbit getting more crowded, what solutions are actually in place to manage it?
https://shorturl.at/y2rQC
#Space #Astronomy #ScienceNews #NASA #Satellites #NightSky #SPHEREx #SpaceJunk
DoomsdaysCWMay 27

Analyst on #China’s spent rocket stages: “Things only continue to get worse”

Spent upper stages are the most dangerous kind of #SpaceDebris.

Eric Berger – May 26, 2026

"Further growth is anticipated from both the company’s state-owned enterprises as well as a rapidly expanding number of private launch companies. There is nothing wrong with this, as China’s rapid growth in launch has been mirrored by the United States and, in particular, SpaceX.

"However there is an issue with these launches, as China appears to be ignoring long-established norms about disposing of the upper stages of rockets. These are the parts of the vehicle that separate from the first stage of a rocket and push a satellite or spacecraft into orbit."

[...]

" 'China… continues to abandon many rocket bodies in high low-Earth orbit,' Shell wrote on LinkedIn early Monday. 'The total mass of orbital debris is a key variable influencing the long-term sustainment of space. There is broad agreement that abandoning rocket body upper stages in long-lived orbits is not a best practice. In fact, all the major space-faring nations have acknowledged this.' ”

Read more:
https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/05/analyst-on-chinas-spent-rocket-stages-things-only-continue-to-get-worse/

#SpaceJunk #KesslerSyndrome #KesslerEffect #Megaconstellations #DarkSkies #SpacePollution #SpaceX #LowEarthOrbit

Analyst on China's spent rocket stages: "Things only continue to get worse"

Spent upper stages are the most dangerous kind of space debris.

Ars Technica