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Story summary
- The space sector faces rising orbital debris risks, with over 10,000 active satellites and millions of fragments in low Earth orbit.
- Ground-based tracking systems cannot monitor debris smaller than 10 cm, leaving collision-avoidance data incomplete.
- Industry must adopt orbit-based detection with millimeter-wave radar to enable real-time tracking of 1 mm particles.
- NASA and the U.S. Space Force are investing in these capabilities to support proactive debris management as constellations expand.
