Since the launch of Sputnik in 1957, humanity has been using space for multiple purposes such as communications, navigation and science.
It is now over 60 years since our first contact with the cosmos but we have more questions about it than ever.
John F. Kennedy was quoted as saying “The exploration of space will go ahead, whether we join it or not, and it is one of the great adventures of all time, and no nation which expects to be the leader of other nations can expect to stay behind in the race for space.”
He was right about the race for space. Between 1957 and 2020 over 6,000 satellites were launched into space. The amount of space debris increases by huge amounts year on year. At the end of 2020 there were over 21,000 cataloged objects in low earth orbit or beyond. This includes objects like rocket bodies and active and dead payloads.
In addition, the number of satellites is set to increase exponentially, especially thanks to SpaceX. So far, SpaceX has launched over 1,000 of the planned 12,000 Starlink satellites intended for the construction of a satellite internet constellation. There has even been talk about 30,000 additional satellites, making the total number 42,000.
The vast amount of space junk increases the risk of satellites colliding with each other, or with space junk. This is one of the reasons there has been great interest in space technology and innovation around space safety.