The Graphic Truth: Space junk — enter the trashosphere

November 16, 2021

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The Graphic Truth: Space junk — enter the trashosphere

Gabriella Turrisi

A Russian missile shot down on Monday a Soviet-era defunct satellite, breaking it up into thousands of fragments and throwing NASA into a tizzy. As the number of satellites in space has grown rapidly in recent years, the amount of trash floating up there too now vastly exceeds the tonnage of the satellites themselves from accidents, collisions, explosions, and the odd missile hit. It's not just a litter problem — space junk moves at over 17 thousand miles per hour, as fast as functioning spacecraft, so even a tiny fragment can severely damage a satellite. We compare the number of satellites to the debris circling Earth.

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The move expands the Trump Administration's free speech clashes to Brazil, raising tensions between the two largest economies in the Americas.

All presidents issue executive orders, but in the first month of his second presidency, Trump has been signing them like they're going out of style.

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“There is a sort of doubt about freedom of expression here or protection of free speech in Europe,” says Roberta Metsola, president of the European Parliament.

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