61 results about "Space debris" patented technology

Initially, the term space debris referred to the natural debris found in the Solar System: asteroids, comets, and meteoroids. However, with the 1979 beginning of the NASA Orbital Debris Program, the term also refers to the debris (alt. space waste or space garbage) from the mass of defunct, artificially created objects in space, especially Earth orbit. These include old satellites and spent rocket stages, as well as the fragments from their disintegration and collisions.