There are a reported 170 million pieces of junk floating in Earth’s upper atmosphere, but only 22,000 are being tracked. Some 7,000 tonnes of space junk circle our planet, as defunct satellites, junk from rockets and other metals and rocks build up close to Earth. Experts have previously warned that as space debris increases, it will make it harder for rockets to escape Earth’s orbit out of fear of colliding with an object, known as the ‘Klesser syndrome’.
There are fears the space junk could crash into each other causing a breakdown in systems such as mobile phones, television, GPS and weather-related services which rely on the satellites.
It comes as Ralph Dinsley, founder and executive director of Northern Space and Security LTD believes we are approaching a point where it could be too late.
Mr Dinsley told Express.co.uk: “At the far end of the spectrum, worst-case scenario, it will wipe it out.
“We could have a major space junk event that will mean that we can’t launch beyond low-Earth orbit and we trap ourselves on Earth.
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“The simplest event is that it will slow down how we do space exploration. It has been ten years since the last satellite on satellite collision.
“The likelihood of it happening is very low but there is still that potential.
“But the catastrophic results could be huge.”
Certain companies are now working on projects to clear the space junk.
The next step for RemoveDEBRIS will be to test navigation systems and special scanners to detect space junk.
Space junk also poses a threat for Elon Musk’s Starlink project which will send 60 broadband streaming satellites into orbit.
SpaceX hope to operate thousands of satellites that will circle the planet at about 300 to 700 miles overhead.
The company has planned as many as 24 dedicated Starlink launches — each with about 60 satellites — for next year.
