Space junk could destroy satellites, hurt economies

SYDNEY: The growing amount of fast-moving space debris orbiting the Earth could lead to catastrophic collisions with satellites, hurting economies, researchers warned Wednesday ahead of a summit to coordinate efforts to remove the junk.

There are an estimated 170 million pieces of so-called "space junk"—left behind after missions that can be as big as spent rocket stages or as small as paint flakes—in orbit alongside some US$700 billion of space infrastructure.