Space junk cleaning device launched for demonstration

Space junk cleaning device launched for demonstration

Space junk is debris that A) ___ and sizes. It could be bits of an old rocket, a broken satellite or a camera, or a B) ___! Since 1957, rocket launches have added around 10, 680 satellites to the Earth's orbit, and of these C) ___, but only 3, 700 are still working. Space junk can cause problems for astronauts living and working in space, D) ___ as it can travel at speeds of more than 17, 500 mph as it orbits the Earth, which could cause E) ___. As well as this, space junk can also cause problems for us here on Earth, as it could damage the satellites we use F) ___, mobile phones and the internet.

A world-first mission to show how technology could be used to help clean up space junk blasts off on 20 March. It was launched from Kazakhstan today but be controlled from a UK base in Oxfordshire. The UK government has funded the centre because it wants to make Britain a hub for businesses that can service and/or remove ageing satellites.

1. some serious damage if it hit the spacecraft

2. around 6, 250 are still in space

3. in space for things like maps

4. how space junk removal could work

5. comes in all sorts of different shapes

6. screwdriver dropped by an astronaut

7. like on the International Space Station (ISS)

ANSWERS: A-5, B-6, C-2, D-7, E-1, F-3

Space junk is debris that comes in all sorts of different shapes and sizes. It could be bits of an old rocket, a broken satellite or a camera, or a screwdriver dropped by an astronaut! Since 1957, rocket launches have added around 10, 680 satellites to the Earth's orbit, and of these around 6, 250 are still in space, but only 3, 700 are still working. Space junk can cause problems for astronauts living and working in space, like on the International Space Station (ISS) as it can travel at speeds of more than 17, 500 mph as it orbits the Earth, which could cause some serious damage if it hit the spacecraft. As well as this, space junk can also cause problems for us here on Earth, as it could damage the satellites we use in space for things like maps, mobile phones and the internet.

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