Tracking Satellites and Space Debris Using Radio Antennae

The 76-meter Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank in the United Kingdom was used as part of a network of telescopes to track space debris using radar techniques. Courtesy Anthony Holloway

Every year, thousands and thousands of satellites get launched into orbit around our planet. The result is an increasingly congested "space" above Earth populated by equipment that provides services to the surface. At the same time, these satellites affect ground-based astronomy research and create potential for damage when they eventually fall through Earth's atmosphere to the ground. In addition, near-Earth space hosts old rocket bodies and other materials left in space by past missions.

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