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The Conversation
The Conversation
Alice Gorman, Associate Professor in Archaeology and Space Studies, Flinders University

13,000 tonnes of space junk clutters Earth orbit. Here’s how it could be cleaned up

The Conversation, CC BY-SA

Seventy years ago, Earth had only one satellite: the Moon. Now it has more than 15,000 – about 10,000 of which are owned by Elon Musk’s SpaceX. The world’s first trillionaire plans to launch one million more satellites, each roughly 70 metres long and 20 metres wide, that would form a data centre megaconstellation.

But more satellites means more space junk, which is already threatening critical infrastructure we rely on every day.

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