Imagine looking up at the night sky and realizing that thousands of objects are racing around Earth at several kilometers per second.

Satellites.

Rocket stages.

Dead spacecraft.

And tiny fragments of metal.

Most are invisible from the ground, but they can pose a serious threat to everything else in orbit.

In The Space Junk Chain Reaction That Could Trap Us on Earth, we explore the science behind orbital debris and the frightening possibility known as Kessler Syndrome.

When two objects collide in orbit, they can create thousands of fragments. Those fragments can collide with other spacecraft, creating even more debris.

More debris means more collision opportunities.

More collisions mean even more debris.

It can become a dangerous feedback loop.

We e ...