The spacecraft studied solar flares and coronal mass ejections using its single science instrument, an imaging spectrometer that recorded X-rays and gamma rays.

The RHESSI satellite launched to low Earth orbit aboard a Pegasus XL rocket in February 2002. Space junk cleanup: 7 wild ways to destroy orbital debris What goes up must come down: Study looks at risk of orbital debris casualties

Space junk threat: Researchers working to reduce impact of falling debris If enough of those happen, we'd end up with a dreaded cascade known as the Kessler Syndrome, which could seriously hamper our ability to explore and utilize space. And the approximate number of pieces between 0.04 inches (1 millimeter) and 0.4 inches is truly staggering - 130 million or so.Įven these tiny shards can do serious damage if they hit a satellite or a crewed spacecraft, given their tremendous velocities: In low Earth orbit, where the International Space Station and many other craft fly, objects move at about 17,500 mph (28,160 kph).Īnd in-space collisions generate many more pieces of space junk, which could lead to more collisions down the road. The European Space Agency estimates that about 1 million objects between 0.4 inches and 4 inches (1 to 10 centimeters) wide are whizzing around our planet at the moment. But there are many, many more that are too small for us to keep tabs on.

More than 30,000 pieces of orbital debris are currently being tracked by global space surveillance networks, for example. RHESSI's coming plunge is another reminder that Earth orbit is an increasingly crowded and dangerous place.

Dead space 1 crash 20 30 minutes