Russia has 14,000 pieces of debris orbiting Earth, more than twice that left by US

A new infographic revealed which countries own the garbage orbiting Earth and has reportedly found that Russia is responsible for 14,403 pieces and the US comes in second place with 8,734. According to the reports, Russia has contributed more to the collection as compared to any other country. The data compilation proves that more than 30,000 debris particles from satellites, rockets and other man-made devices are orbiting Earth, which has almost doubled than what was found in orbit two years ago. 

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Russia tops the spot

As per the findings, the particles left behind can vary in sizes and are able to travel at speeds above 16,777 mph, which means even small particles are capable of damaging satellites. According to international media reports, data from Space-Track.org allowed Corby-based electronic company RS Components to analyze how many components of debris are currently orbiting the planet earth and which country they belong to. It was reportedly found that Russia is in the top spot with 14,403 pieces followed by US with 8,734, China with 4,688, and France with 994. India saw a surge with 124 more particles in the past two years, bringing its total to 517. According to reports from RC Components, efforts are being made to clean up space for a number of years but there is still lot to go. 

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On the other hand, a Russian spacecraft that was floating in outer space has now shattered into pieces, leaving debris in Earth's orbit, the agency confirmed on Sunday, May 10. The Fregat-SB upper stage rocket was used to deliver the Russian satellite Spektr-R to the orbit in 2011. As per reports, the rocket disintegrated on Friday.

The disintegration of the Fregat rocket was reported on Saturday by the18th Space Control Squadron, a US Airforce unit that tracks space debris. Taking to Twitter, it said that the rocket shattered into 65 pieces but there was no indication it was caused by a collision.

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Image Credit: Pixabay