After more than 50 years of launching rockets and satellites into space, the human race now has to deal with the clutter left behind — or is it “above”? Dead satellites, spent rocket stages, paint flakes, and coolant from nuclear-powered satellites continue to orbit the Earth at ultrahigh velocities.

The European Space Agency (ESA) has an excellent video depicting the Distribution of Catalogued [Space] Objects, 1957-2000, as part of an article, Space debris spotlight. According to Dr. Walter Flury, ESA principal space debris expert (great name / job title!), “There have been cases of damage and destruction caused by hypervelocity impacts. Just last week, we had to do an avoidance manoeuvre.” Here are some numbers:

According to Flury, at the end of 2003, there were some 10 000 catalogued debris objects around Earth, comprising:

• operational spacecraft — 7%
• old spacecraft — 22%
• rocket bodies — 17%
• mission-related objects — 13%
• miscellaneous fragments — 41%

Artificial debris includes spent satellites, cast off Yo-Yo de-spinners (used to de-spin spacecraft after launch), tools dropped during spacewalks, discarded rocket upper stages and the fragmentary remains of craft that have exploded or otherwise broken up.

In addition to the 10,000 catalogued objects, ESA estimates there are at least 50,000 uncatalogued objects larger than 1cm, all traveling at velocities ranging from 14,400 to 50,000 kph. For comparison, a tiny fragment of space kipple zipping along at 50,000 kph is moving 17 times faster than the speed of a machine gun bullet. Just something to keep in mind if you have some extra cash to burn and are thinking about becoming a space tourist. Make sure your can has a wicked windscreen.

No doubt in a few years we’ll be seeing our landfill — and perhaps spacefill — overflowing with discarded old wall-E toys.