"For now, people are more likely to be struck by lightning than by falling space junk. But those odds are shifting. Sean O’Keefe, a former NASA administrator, ... and other experts say that governments and companies should be compelled to use materials that will fully disintegrate. No such regulation exists."

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/31/world/asia/space-debris-falling-crashing-earth-risk.html

#Space #SpaceDebris #SpacePolicy #SpaceLaw #SpaceSustainability

“Vaporizing a car’s worth of aluminum, other metals, and chemicals in the upper atmosphere, every hour, indefinitely? Not good.”
#spacedebris #space #sustainability #satellites #megaconstellation

https://buttondown.com/creativegood/archive/musks-space-junk-is-a-threat-to-us-all/

“Vaporizing a car’s worth of aluminum, other metals, and chemicals in the upper atmosphere, every hour, indefinitely? Not good.”
#spacedebris #space #sustainability #satellites #megaconstellation

https://buttondown.com/creativegood/archive/musks-space-junk-is-a-threat-to-us-all/

"Our measurements reveal an average brightness seven times brighter than mitigation targets cited in FCC filings and peak values over 200 times brighter than the International Astronomical Union’s recommended threshold (V magnitude 7). Now, AST SpaceMobile is expected to deploy over 200 Block 2 satellites that are each three times larger (199 m2) which would be three times brighter than Block 1 (all else being equal), and regulations have not changed."

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1538-3873/ae8333/

#Space #Satellites #Astronomy #SpacePolicy

"Our measurements reveal an average brightness seven times brighter than mitigation targets cited in FCC filings and peak values over 200 times brighter than the International Astronomical Union’s recommended threshold (V magnitude 7). Now, AST SpaceMobile is expected to deploy over 200 Block 2 satellites that are each three times larger (199 m2) which would be three times brighter than Block 1 (all else being equal), and regulations have not changed."

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1538-3873/ae8333/

#Space #Satellites #Astronomy #SpacePolicy

In April, NASA turned off one of the few remaining functional instruments. They have been slowly disabling them since 1998, because of limited power/use at various ranges.

Think about that for a moment…

It launched almost 50 years ago, in 1977. And we are STILL able to communicate with it. Expectedly until 2036. And this with our technology knowledge at the time.

Unless it collides with something or is retrieved, it will reach the Oort Cloud in about 300 years. It will take about 30k years to pass through it.

All of this blows my mind.

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/voyager

#Voyager #Space #NASA #Interstellar #Universe #Technology

"For now, people are more likely to be struck by lightning than by falling space junk. But those odds are shifting. Sean O’Keefe, a former NASA administrator, ... and other experts say that governments and companies should be compelled to use materials that will fully disintegrate. No such regulation exists."

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/31/world/asia/space-debris-falling-crashing-earth-risk.html

#Space #SpaceDebris #SpacePolicy #SpaceLaw #SpaceSustainability

In April, NASA turned off one of the few remaining functional instruments. They have been slowly disabling them since 1998, because of limited power/use at various ranges.

Think about that for a moment…

It launched almost 50 years ago, in 1977. And we are STILL able to communicate with it. Expectedly until 2036. And this with our technology knowledge at the time.

Unless it collides with something or is retrieved, it will reach the Oort Cloud in about 300 years. It will take about 30k years to pass through it.

All of this blows my mind.

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/voyager

#Voyager #Space #NASA #Interstellar #Universe #Technology

A discarded #SpaceX rocket is on a high-speed collision course with the #moon

The rocket’s upper stage will unintentionally slam into the moon Wednesday, carving out a crater & sending up a plume of dust & rubble.
#Space tracking expert Bill Gray predicts an impact of 5,400 mph—7X the speed of sound—near Einstein Crater.
While scientists are not too concerned about this particular piece of #SpaceJunk, it highlights the growing threat as more & more items cram into orbit.
https://apnews.com/article/spacex-rocket-moon-crash-512c4dd708b4cda1160d30b764f9fdb5

A discarded #SpaceX rocket is on a high-speed collision course with the #moon

The rocket’s upper stage will unintentionally slam into the moon Wednesday, carving out a crater & sending up a plume of dust & rubble.
#Space tracking expert Bill Gray predicts an impact of 5,400 mph—7X the speed of sound—near Einstein Crater.
While scientists are not too concerned about this particular piece of #SpaceJunk, it highlights the growing threat as more & more items cram into orbit.
https://apnews.com/article/spacex-rocket-moon-crash-512c4dd708b4cda1160d30b764f9fdb5

The conclusion of a century-long quest 😲

Our VLT obtained firm evidence that Betelgeuse, a red supergiant star in the Orion constellation and one of the most famous stars in the night sky, is not alone!

1/4

📷 ESO/M. Montargès et al. Background: N. Rissinger (skysurvey.org)

#astrodon #astronomy #astrophysics #space #science

The conclusion of a century-long quest 😲

Our VLT obtained firm evidence that Betelgeuse, a red supergiant star in the Orion constellation and one of the most famous stars in the night sky, is not alone!

1/4

📷 ESO/M. Montargès et al. Background: N. Rissinger (skysurvey.org)

#astrodon #astronomy #astrophysics #space #science

#Amazon is asking the #FCC to approve 5,105 massive new #satellites while hiding their orbital debris risk models behind a wall of corporate secrecy. The public deserves full transparency, because a safe and sustainable space environment belongs to all of us — not just to the highest bidder.

https://spacenews.com/amazon-files-application-for-direct-to-device-satellite-constellation/

#Space #SpaceDebris #SpacePolicy

#Amazon is asking the #FCC to approve 5,105 massive new #satellites while hiding their orbital debris risk models behind a wall of corporate secrecy. The public deserves full transparency, because a safe and sustainable space environment belongs to all of us — not just to the highest bidder.

https://spacenews.com/amazon-files-application-for-direct-to-device-satellite-constellation/

#Space #SpaceDebris #SpacePolicy