Earth’s orbit has gotten so crowded that NASA projects space
debris collisions to occur at least once every four to five
years. And recently there have been some very close calls. Over
the span of just a couple weeks last summer, orbital junk headed
for the International Space Station was expected to pass so
close that the six astronauts aboard had to take emergency
shelter in Russian space capsules. In one instance, the debris
zoomed past less than 900 feet away. If a commercial satellite
gets taken down or compromised by colliding with space debris,
the daily lives of tens of millions of Americans could get
disrupted. Think of all the devices you use that depend on
signals from Earth’s orbit — that GPS system, your iPhone, even
the radio in your car. These devices stop working if their
associated satellites get damaged. More importantly, American
military operations routinely rely on satellite technology to
gain the upper hand in battle. Soldiers use satellite radios to
communicate information that is criti