Estimates of how much debris is in orbit are difficult to make, but the dangers of space junk orbiting Earth damaging satellites and causing further space junk orbiting Earth are well-known.
Space Junk Orbiting Earth Removal; Know More!|NASA
Private companies and national space agencies are exploring the business potential of removing space junk orbiting Earth.
The European Space Agency (ESA) has procured the ClearSpace-1 mission from Swiss start-up ClearSpace to remove an existing space junk orbiting Earth.
Marshall Kaplan of Launchspace Technologies Corporation divides space junk orbiting Earth into three groups based on size, with the middle group being the most difficult to locate and control.
The responsibility for cleaning up space junk orbiting Earth lies with major spacefaring nations, but the rate of rocket body accumulation has increased in the last 20 years.
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The demand for commercial active debris removal (ADR) is not currently viable but it may become more affordable in the future.
Currently, there are over 23,000 tracked pieces of space junk orbiting Earth, but there are estimated to be more than 100 trillion untracked pieces, according to Live Science.
Even small space junk orbiting Earth can cause significant damage in space. Some space junk orbiting Earth falls to our planet every year, with most burning up in the atmosphere or landing in the ocean, Live Science added.
Incidents of space junk orbiting Earth colliding with other objects in space are increasing as more debris accumulates in orbit.
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