Pollution in space

  (369 kb)

In 1995, Canada became the first country to equip one of its satellites, Radarsat, with casing and shields to protect against collisions with garbage orbiting the Earth.

Since the 1950s, many satellites have been launched to serve as communications relay devices and image sensors. But along with the space age came the beginnings of space pollution. Today, space is littered with non-functional satellites and booster rockets.

These pieces of space wreckage continue to orbit the Earth on paths that cannot be controlled from the ground. Collisions are increasingly common and pose a danger to active satellites. At a speed of 15 kilometres per second—a bullet travels at about 1 kilometre per second—even a splinter of paint can cause damage, such as by piercing an astronaut's space suit.