Where do old satellites go?
The first satellite went into space in 1957. Since then, people have sent up thousands more. Today, more than 10,000 working satellites go round Earth. They help with phones, maps, TV, weather and more.
Space junk is anything up there that does not work any more. Scientists keep an eye on about 40,000 pieces as big as an orange or bigger. There are also more than a million smaller bits!
Space junk zooms around Earth very, very fast: about 8 kilometers every second. That is faster than a bullet! At that speed, even a tiny piece can damage a satellite or a spaceship.
Pieces of rockets are left behind in space after a launch.
Satellites that stopped working, but still go round and round.
Even a fleck of paint once made a chip in a window of the space station!
Astronauts have even dropped a glove and a tool bag by mistake!