Space debris

High school (ages 12+)
Space & Astronomy

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/space-debris

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the estimated number of trackable objects?Over 30,000 objects larger than 10 centimeters (about 4 inches)
2. What is the primary collision risk zones?Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and Geostationary Orbit (GEO) regions
3. What is space junk?Space junk is any old or broken human-made object that keeps orbiting Earth, like satellites and rocket parts.
4. Why is space junk dangerous?It can collide with working satellites or spacecraft, damaging them and even hurting services like GPS and communication.

Active Debris Removal (ADR): Technologies and missions designed to capture and remove existing space debris from orbit.
Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO): An orbit where a satellite passes over any given point of the Earth's surface at the same local solar time.
Geostationary Orbit (GEO): An orbit 35,786 kilometers above Earth's equator, where satellites appear to remain in a fixed position.
Space Situational Awareness (SSA): The ability to track, monitor, and understand objects and activities in space to ensure safe operations.