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CNN is reporting on a strange metal object that fell from the sky into a relatively deserted area in the Republic of Namibia last month: More »
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Space is a vast and often empty place, but within our own orbit, things are getting pretty crowded. There are millions of pieces of debris, from busted satellites to lost chunks of rockets, encircling our planet. Some say it's a deadly menace. But just how dangerous is this space garbage, really? More »
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Yes, it's proof of intelligence life on Mars - the only problem is that it's just some of our old crap. Specifically, it's the heat shield jettisoned by the Opportunity rover when it landed on Mars a few years back. More »
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After fifty years of space exploration, humanity has left well over 5000 tons of debris up there, and the ever growing pile of space junk poses a serious risk to spacecraft. Now there's a solution...and it's only slightly crazy. More »
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There is so much space junk orbiting Earth right now that it poses a danger to spacecraft and space stations - even a tiny piece of debris can shred a hull. But now there's a cheap, simple solution. More »
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With Earth's orbit cluttered with dead satellites, discarded rocket boosters and other space junk, ways to prevent the accumulation of such debris are desperately needed. How about using a tractor beam to steer future junk aside, says engineer John Sinko. More »
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This amazing video shows how the Earth collected over 5 tons of orbiting garbage over the past half-century - and exactly where it is. Sputnik's unexpected legacy is space junk. [via phospors] More »
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Space junk is increasing at a rate of 5% per year. Luckily, researchers at the University of Surrey have invented a "Cubesail" satellite that will reduce future orbital garbage. Once equipment has done its job, the Cubesail will de-orbit debris. More »
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Early this morning, an object that was most likely a small asteroid zoomed past Earth, narrowly missing a collision course. Now a European astronomer says it's possible that this object could be part of the ESA's Venus probe. More »
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Here's the "underdog" electric-powered rocket that just may conquer the Moon and win Google's $30 million Lunar X Prize. The Lunatrex rocket uses a slow-but-steady approach, taking months instead of days to reach the Moon. More »
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Experts have been scratching their heads over a huge, bright fireball that zoomed out of the sky over Texas yesterday. Reporters and the FAA claimed it was satellite debris, but astronomers say they're wrong. More »
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Here lies the wreckage of the Genesis spacecraft in the Utah desert. It's just one of many space vehicles that have returned planetside in speeding balls of screaming fire. More »
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A lot of the satellites we depend on for modern life are in high orbits, beyond the reach of Earth-based repair missions. It would be prohibitively expensive, if not impossible, to send a team of astronauts up there. As a result, when those satellites fail or run out of fuel, they become space junk, and billions of dollars must be spent to replace them — until now. A team at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario is developing a robot repair team that could keep those satellites in orbit for years to come. More »
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People are good at spreading trash around the globe, and even our vast oceans are starting to fill up with (mostly plastic) refuse. Witness the North Pacific subtropical gyre, a floating trashcan the size of Texas. But outer space is closing the gap, according to a recent article in the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (thanks, TreeHugger). We've heard a lot about the threat space debris poses to expensive communications satellites (read: Pentagon is getting worried about damaging their pretty spy sats), but what about crewed flights? Tourists' flights into low Earth orbit are going to be bumpy rides if we don't get to fixing his problem soon. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=382235&view=rss&microfeed=true A bus-sized spy satellite, made by and for the U.S., has lost power and will crash down on Earth as early as February. Apparently, nobody knows if the satellite has been dead for a year or just a few days. (Great going, intelligence geeks.) The best part? According to AP, the only comment the National Security Council would make came from a flak who said, "Appropriate government agencies are monitoring the situation." Most experts agree the debris from the satellite will be minimal — far less than the space shuttle crash, and certainly less than what smashed into the Indian Ocean when the 78-ton abandoned space station Skylab smash-landed in 1979. (Thanks, Morgan!) [AP] More »
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Sturdy, car-sized space freighter Progress 26 was launched off the International Space Station on Saturday, filled to the brim with trash — basically, all the crap (literally and figuratively) the crew had been accumulating for weeks. Progress 27, another uncrewed freighter, will be arriving with fresh food and supplies from Earth for the ISS cosmonauts. No word on what will happen to the poop-packed Progress 26 once it's been launched from the ISS, but probably it will meet the same fate as its predecessor Progress 23 last March, which was programmed to burn itself up in our atmosphere. Russian Trash Ship [Space.com] More »
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