BBC: Hundreds of thousands of pieces of space junk are whirling around Earth at speeds up to 28 000 km/hr. Most of the debris is manmade and includes spent rocket stages and destroyed satellites. To minimize the risk of collision with operational spacecraft, governments and private companies try to track it, primarily through the use of radar. Now US aerospace company Lockheed Martin and Australia’s Electro Optic Systems have announced they will be collaborating on the construction of a new tracking facility that will make use of optical and laser technology, which promises to be cheaper and more precise. The new facility, to be located in Australia, is expected to increase global tracking capacity by 25%.
