Over the past 15 years, the number of rockets launched per year has nearly tripled, and the number of satellites orbiting the planet has increased tenfold, according to Statista. The amount of space debris — old satellites and spent rocket stages — falling back to Earth has doubled over the past 10 years. A few hundred tons of old space junk now vaporizes in the atmosphere every year, experts say.
1 Comment
TLDR:
Over the past 15 years, the number of rockets launched per year has nearly tripled, and the number of satellites orbiting the planet has increased tenfold, according to Statista. The amount of space debris — old satellites and spent rocket stages — falling back to Earth has doubled over the past 10 years. A few hundred tons of old space junk now vaporizes in the atmosphere every year, experts say.