[mohn]

Estimates of:

> 1000000 space debris objects from greater than 1 cm to 10 cm

> 130 million space debris objects from greater than 1 mm to 1 cm

For high aspect ratio debris, it's not clear whether the given size ranges refer to the long or short axis. I wonder how the Project West Ford[0] artificial ionosphere needles contribute to these estimates. Apparently the remaining needles are mostly in clumps, so they might not be estimated at the individual level.

I hope we can develop a good method for space debris cleanup. It would be a shame if humanity ends up suffering from Kessler Syndrome[1]. Time to brush up on how to use a map and compass, I guess.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_West_Ford

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kessler_syndrome