h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I know advances in technology and electronics is very rapid, but! all it took was a usherette with a torch to show you to your seat in a cinema

They can put a man on the Moon, but they can't seem to properly dispose of the junk they jettisoned on the way there.

It's like here on the planet, just dump it and no thought for tomorrow - Those that follow in the next 50 to 100 yrs (if "we" don't kill ourselves off before that) will either have somewhere else to go in the universe, or it'll be the sealed domes etc etc seen in sci-fi films/books - self meltdown.

The main problem is that India sent up a satellite, which it then exploded for target practice.

1 speck of "paint" etc, has the same potential damage effect in earths orbit as a ballistic missile has on the planet.
"catching" all the debris large and small in orbit is a colossal task and ALL countries that are "in space" should contribute to, in "tidying up our backyard"

Wouldn't some of the smaller stuff burn up as it fell?

actually no Paul, once in various orbit's like geostationary etc, it can take many years for "earths gravity" to pull particles of any size etc back in

Two issues:

1. not all satellites would be in geostationary orbit.

2. technically, these objects would be safe as long as they didn't bump into other such objects, or interfere with transmissions from viable nearby objects. (Or, of course, fall on the most litigious of the world's citizens)

3. This is not actually a danger, but it makes further launches harder to plan because the launchers would need to figure out what else is out there so as not to send their new launches too close to them.

http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Operations/Space_Safety_Security/Space_Debris/FAQ_Frequently_asked_questions

cheyenne mountain range monitoring space junk - they are monitoring thousands of pieces of "space junk"
NASA can't launch anything until a "clear window"

I think we agree, professor. You were kind enough not to mention that I promised two issues but listed three.

I only went to "secondary school - 11 to 15 yrs" struggled to get my own name right, without adding counting on fingers as well

Well, at least you didn't spell it naim.

wots english ? I only spake Yorkshire