![A Minefield in Earth Orbit: How Space Debris Is Spinning Out of Control [Interactive]](/sciam/cache/file/423DDEB0-2693-46D3-A1D8A967FF0941D0_small.jpg)
A Minefield in Earth Orbit: How Space Debris Is Spinning Out of Control [Interactive]
Our planet's littered orbital environs urgently need a concerted cleanup effort
Stories by David Wright
Where Did All That Space Debris Come From?
Early in the Space Age, little thought was given to objects left in orbit as part of satellite launches. But as the number of those objects has grown, at first steadily and then very rapidly, through the 50-plus years since the launch of Sputnik, concerns about the polluted orbital sphere have grown accordingly.
January 14, 2012 — David Wright
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