Gone to that great junkyard in the sky

Orbiting space junk is no laughing matter. Not only does it pose a possible threat by falling out of orbit and crashing to Earth, even the minutest particle of space waste can present hazards to orbiting craft and satellites.

For instance check out what a speck of paint, drifting about in Earth orbit, did to a window of one of the space shuttles.

There are some unusual things up there, like a camera that floated away from astronaut Sunita “Suni” Williams in December 2006. Other astronauts have lost tools like wrenches and screwdrivers. In 1965 astronaut Ed White even lost a spare glove. Most of the junk, however, comes from large satellites and rockets that fell apart after they stopped working. Together, all the space junk would weigh about 11 million pounds on Earth, or more than 3,000 cars. The largest piece is a part of a rocket about the size of a minivan. The smallest piece would fit on your pinkie fingernail with room to spare.