Space Debris: How Much Junk is in Orbit?

Credit: NASA/ J.-C. LiThis chart shows statistics relating to space junk circling the Earth.

 Credit: NASA/Orbital Debris Program Office.Each dot represents a bit of known space junk that's at least 4 inches (10 cm) in low-Earth orbit, where the space station and shuttles roam. In total, some 19,000 manmade objects this size or bigger orbit Earth as of July 2009; most are in low-Earth orbit. Countless smaller objects are also circling the planet.