Space junk is out of control. Here’s why — and what to do about it.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/interactive/2023/space-junk-debris-removal/

Source:  The Washington Post Editoria Board

Excerpt: ...it turns out that the orbits along which rockets fly and from which satellites beam internet connectivity to Earth are a limited resource — and they’re becoming more crowded every day. The Federal Communications Commission last month issued the first-ever fine for what’s known as space junk, against the Dish Network. The satellite television company failed to dispose properly of one of its satellites, leaving it at a lower orbit than it promised when securing its license. What’s remarkable isn’t the transgression, but the penalty. Today, countries and companies alike sending objects into space are mostly held to standards lower than the average kindergartner. They’re allowed to make a mess, and they’re not really required to pick up after themselves. ...About 8,000 active satellites move through low Earth orbit. Their trajectory can be adjusted from Earth to avoid collision. ...tens of thousands of large pieces of junk orbit out of control in the same area. Some are as big as a school bus. ...professionals, unsurprisingly, have more carefully considered names for these processes — mitigation and remediation. Any time a company (or a country, for that matter) wants to put a satellite in the sky, it should have a clear plan for the instrument’s end of life. For objects in very high geostationary orbit, this usually involves sending the item to the out-of-the-way “graveyard” orbit. For objects lower down, it tends instead to involve moving them lower still, so that they will burn up upon reentering the atmosphere.