The speed at which space junk travels around Earth. Even a collision with tiny debris is extremely dangerous.
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Numbers in the News: Space Junk
The space around Earth is littered with old satellites, rocket parts, and even astronauts’ tools. Take a look at some facts and figures about this human-made cosmic trash.
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17,500 MILES PER HOUR
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44,700
The number of known objects larger than a softball orbiting Earth as of April 2026.
95%
The portion of space junk that is too small to be tracked. NASA estimates that about 100 million chunks of waste are smaller than 0.4 inches.
15,550 TONS
The combined weight of all known space junk. That’s about the same as 64 jumbo jets!
1
The average number of space junk pieces that fall to Earth each day. Most burn up before impact.
THINK ABOUT IT: The amount of space junk continues to grow every day. List some problems you think this could cause.
SOURCES: ACCU, NASA ORBITAL DEBRIS PROGRAM, SPACE-TRACK.ORG
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