Russia launched what's called an anti satellite task. They basically launched a missile from earth to strike down a really old satellite that they haven't used for quite some time. The us. State department reports the blast created more than 15 hundred fragments of space junk. When thousands of objects are moving at 17 thousand, 500 miles per hour, even tiny pieces can become powerful projectiles.
Russia blew up a satellite and almost put the International Space Station in a precarious position. Recode’s Rebecca Heilweil explains how humans are trashing space. A space environmentalist (!) explains what cleanup might look like.
Today’s show was produced by Hady Mawajdeh, edited by Matt Collette, engineered by Efim Shapiro, fact-checked by Laura Bullard and hosted by Sean Rameswaram.
Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained
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