Crowded Skies: The Number of Orbital Objects is Large and Growing

Sputnik was launched in 1957, Earth orbit was a lonely place. That satellite didn’t remain in space very long. It reentered the atmosphere just three months after launch, and the booster that place it in orbit only remained in in space for two months,

Today, the spacescape is very different. According to The Union of Concerned Scientists satellite databa…