China Leads In Outer Space Pollution

China Leads In Outer Space Pollution

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http://www.spacemart.com/reports/China_Leads_In_Outer_Space_Pollution_999.html

China Leads In Outer Space Pollution

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by Staff Writers Moscow, Russia (RIA Novosti) Aug 02, 2010 China has topped the list of the world's major polluters of the near-Earth space environment, followed by the United States and Russia, the Russian Federal Space Agency Roscosmos said on Friday. All together, the three main space powers produce 93% of space debris, according to a statement published on the agency's website.
"According to estimates, 40% of space debris is produced by China. The U.S.'s share accounts for 27.5%, and Russia's [share] for 25.5%, with 7% falling on other countries involved in space exploration," the statement said.
The NASA Orbital Debris Program Office has named Russia and CIS countries as the main polluters of outer space. According to the organization, Russia and its former Soviet allies disposed of a total of 5,833 spacecraft or their parts, including 1,402 satellites and 4,431 parts of carrier rockets, by ejecting them into near-Earth space.

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