this post was submitted on 03 Oct 2023
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I wonder how much trash SpaceX has contributed
They've been pretty good at deorbiting their junk. Upper stages are put in a parking orbit and passivated when deorbiting is unpractical.
40 years ago, everyone would just leave the leftover fuel in the tanks of spent upper stages. That could build up pressure and cause the tanks to explode, producing large amounts of debris.
Hell, Telstar 1 was the first ever communications satellite, launched in 1962 and nonfunctional for over 60 years, yet it's still orbiting the Earth!