Now, US defence giant Lockheed Martin Corp has joined with a Canberra-based tech company to set up a tracking station in the Australian Outback that will keep track of the junk which could threaten commercial and government satellites orbiting the Earth.
"There are up to 200 threats a day identified for orbiting satellites," said Trevor Thomas, a Lockheed Martin spokesman. "Most satellites can sustain some damage, but little bits of junk hit satellites every day and each satellite on average is worth around USD 500 million."
Lockheed and partner Electro Optic Systems Holdings Ltd is planning to use optical and laser tracking technology to track debris moving at speeds of 17,500 miles an hour. The equipment which will be used at this station in Western Australia state would be in addition to radar-based systems such as the US Air Force's Space Fence, which is capable of following 200,000 objects.
According to space scientists, over 21,000 pieces of debris with a radius larger than 10 centimetres are present in Earth's orbit.
The tracking station set up by Lockheed Martin and EOS would work in the areas where space-junk tracking hasn't often gone before. "It's like a giant version of a handheld laser-ranging system," said Craig Smith, chief executive of space systems at EOS.
It is learned that the construction of the Australian facility would start this year and get completed in early 2016. Smith said that the station would boost the space industry's ability to track space junk by about 25%.
"Ground-based space situational awareness is a growing priority for government and commercial organisations around the world, that need to protect their investments in space," said Rick Ambrose, a senior executive at Lockheed Martin's space systems division.
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