Over 170 million dangerous small fragments of space debris circulating around Earth - Scientists

MOSCOW: More than 170 million dangerous small fragments of space debris with the size of up to 1 centimetre continue to circulate around the Earth, which poses a serious threat to spacecraft, reported Sputnik.

"It has been found out that about 29,000 fragments of debris with the size of more than 10 centimetres (3.94 inches), around 670,000 fragments of debris with the size of 1-10 centimetres and more than 170 million fragments of debris with the size of 1 millimetre - 1 centimetre," said the All-Russian Research Institute for Civil Defence.

The whole weight of the debris on the Earth orbit is estimated at 6,500 tonnes, according to the Russian scientists.

The institute added that a collision with even a very small fragment of space debris poses a threat to spacecraft.

-- BERNAMA