EU SST monitors re-entry of space object ISS DEB – EU SST

Trash from the International Space Station may have hit a house in Florida

NASA collected the item to confirm whether it came from the International Space Station.

NASA takes ownership of space junk that crashed into Florida home

A piece of space debris that crashed into a home in Naples, Florida, last month was a piece of the International Space Station, NASA said.

Family whose roof was damaged by space debris files claims against NASA

"Whatever NASA does is going to send a strong signal to the space industry."

Analysis of space debris recycling potential to supply raw materials for constructions on the Moon | Activities Portal

Space junk: a recycling station could be cleaning up in Earth orbit by 2050

Satellites monitor climate change, guide people with GPS and keep us connected through texts and social media, but they’re under threat.

Payloads and rocket bodies in space, by orbit

Debris from launches or collisions is not counted. Objects are subtracted from the time series after they have reentered the Earth's atmosphere.

A Sustainable Development Goal for space?

University of Plymouth news: An international team of scientists, led by the University, calls for the creation of an 18th addition to the United...

Airspace closures due to reentering space objects - Scientific Reports

Uncontrolled reentries of space objects create a collision risk with aircraft in flight. While the probability of a strike is low, the consequences could be catastrophic. Moreover, the risk is rising due to increases in both reentries and flights. In response, national authorities may choose to preemptively close airspace during reentry events; some have already done so. We determine the probability for a rocket body reentry within airspace over a range of air traffic densities. The highest-density regions, around major airports, have a 0.8% chance per year of being affected by an uncontrolled reentry. This rate rises to 26% for larger but still busy areas of airspace, such as that found in the northeastern United States, northern Europe, or around major cities in the Asia-Pacific region. For a given reentry, the collision risk in the underlying airspace increases with the air traffic density. However, the economic consequences of flight delays also increase should that airspace be closed. This situation puts national authorities in a dilemma—to close airspace or not—with safety and economic implications either way. The collision risk could be mitigated if controlled reentries into the ocean were required for all missions. However, over 2300 rocket bodies are already in orbit and will eventually reenter in an uncontrolled manner. Airspace authorities will face the challenge of uncontrolled reentries for decades to come.

Annual number of objects launched into space

This includes satellites, probes, landers, crewed spacecrafts, and space station flight elements launched into Earth orbit or beyond.