![](https://astronomywithjoseph.files.wordpress.com/2022/04/k6b7vvxyjcfzahdbjefh4i.jpg?w=1024)
Now that humanity has reached a stage where we can send equipment and spacecraft to space quite frequently, there is a concern about the build-up of debris around the Earth. The Department of Defense keeps surveillance of more than 27,000 pieces of rogue debris that are orbiting within the near-Earth environment. These pieces of “space junk” are traveling at speeds of the magnitude of tens of thousands of miles per hour-fast enough to cause structural damage to nearby spacecraft.
Knowing this, one might ask: “How is the International Space Station orbiting Earth without taking such dangerous impacts?” NASA has created a decision-making hierarchy to which the space station can determine if evasive maneuvers are required to avoid potentially severe impacts. For example, an imaginary pizza box (dimensions of 2.5 x 30 x 30 miles) surrounds the space station. Should predictions show that a piece of debris (4 in or larger in diameter/length) should strike the station, they are capable of activating thrusters for a short while to get out of the way. One thing to note is that there are thousands more of debris that exist that aren’t tracked due to their small sizes; however, the shielding around the station is capable of withstanding hits from them. Regardless, constant monitoring is required to protect the spacecraft and humans residing in this field of debris.
So, what happens if we continue to add space junk without methods to clean some of it up? The Kessler Syndrome offers one perspective for this thought. It essentially says that there is a point at which the trash orbiting Earth sets off a chain reaction where more debris is continuously created. For instance, say that a satellite is obliterated by either floating debris or asteroids, resulting in numerous pieces of material flying in all directions. If we reach the point identified by the Kessler Syndrome, the satellite pieces could strike other pieces of space junk, causing more splitting of trash. We must look into ways to remove and prevent space junk from continuing to accrue as future launches may face unnecessary damage and casualties.