After the launch of Sputnik 1 in 1957, the lower orbit around the Earth has become an enormous congested
environment with more than 2,200 satellite launches till date. Those satellites, along with launch vehicle
components and various mechanicak extractions, collisions and explosions, now fill this region with a “fog” of
space debris. And it’s getting congested. In the last few weeks, SpaceX has launched 60 new satellites as part of its
Starlink programme. This brings the total to currently around 400 Starlink satellites in low Earth orbit as part of a
programme that aims to bring cheap, satellite-based internet access to everyone. Eventually, this programme
could place nearly 12,000 satellites in orbit around the Earth.
-By Naveen Kumar dwivedi