• @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    English
    142 months ago

    US Space Command said in December that the population of space debris in orbit has increased by 76 percent since 2019 to 44,600 objects. The uptick in space junk is primarily due to debris-generating events, such as anti-satellite tests or occasional explosions.

    Holy crap, that’s a huge increase in such a short time. Were there other dumbfuck ASAT tests during this time than that one Russian one?

    • @whotookkarl
      link
      English
      3
      edit-2
      2 months ago

      China, India, USSR, Russia, and the US have tested anti satellite systems. The US last public test was in 2008 and banned future tests in 2022. Russia last tested in 2021. China 2018, India 2019.

      https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-satellite_weapon#History_by_country

      The alternative to smashing them with a missile is a high altitude nuclear bomb to fry them from the EMP blast without all the debris.

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        English
        42 months ago

        Oh yeah I know about the previous tests but the article specifically said that there’s been a 76% increase since 2019. Guess the Indian test might also have played into it, I’d completely forgotten about that one