New images show the evolution of space being packed with junk by mankind

Humans have spent more than half a century sending things into space. As a result, there are roughly 500,000 man-made objects, and thousands of satellites, orbiting our planet today.

Junk and debris consisting of objects big and small, from flecks of paint to defunct satellites, are taking up valuable space in our skies. If we don’t start clearing up this junk and restricting the number of launches, mankind may ruin our view of the night sky forever!

Here at Under Lucky Stars, we create star maps of the constellations above, which mark your most magical moments. Now, we’re sharing new designs which highlight the issue of sending satellites into space and show the impact that space junk and debris has had on our sky over time. We created constellation maps of historic past events and visualised the amount of junk in space at that time, according to our data. We also reveal what our night sky could look like in future if we don’t clear up our space junk...

The Moon Landing

16th July 1969, Florida USA

Space debris count: 1,000-2,000 pieces.

Perhaps one of the most iconic events in history, the official Moon landing may not have happened until the 20th July 1969 but the launch date of the United States' Apollo 11 was four days prior. The mission took place eight years after then President JFK announced a national goal of landing a man on the moon by the end of the 1960s. At this starting point for space exploration, there was a low amount of activity in space with just a few satellites launched and roughly 1,000-2,000 pieces of space debris.

The Launch of Facebook

February 4th 2004, Massachusetts USA

Space debris count: 8,000 pieces.

Facebook began back in 2004 when co-founder Mark Zuckerberg was still studying at Harvard University. Initially launched as a social media website to connect Harvard students with one another, Facebook is now the biggest social media network in the world with over 2.6 billion monthly active users. After almost 3 and a half decades of sending things into space, there was an approximate number of 303 satellites in space as of 2004 and more than 8,000 pieces of space debris.

The UK Decides on Brexit

23rd June 2016, London

Space debris count: 17,000 pieces.

The 23rd June 2016 marks the date of when the EU referendum took place, and the people of the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union. It was a date in history that would change the future for many. But that’s not all that was changing, so were our skies, slowly but surely. By 2016, the number of satellites launched since the 1960s had risen to 1,351 with now more than 17,000 pieces of space junk in the atmosphere.

Trump becomes President

20th January 2017, Washington DC USA

Space debris count: 18,000 pieces.

Businessman and television personality, Donald Trump, became the 45th President of the United States back in 2017. Up to an estimated 600,000 people attended the public ceremony held on 20th January 2017 meanwhile 388 scheduled satellite launches were noted in 2017, increasing 187% from the 135 pieces in 2016. This brings the grand total to 1739.

SpaceX launches Falcon 9

13th June 2020, Florida USA

Space debris count: 22,000 pieces.

When we released the Save Our Stars petition, we explained that SpaceX is looking to send thousands of satellites into low-Earth orbit as part of their plan to achieve an access-all-areas broadband internet supply. On 13th June 2020, Falcon 9 was launched, sending another 50 internet satellites into orbit. So far SpaceX has launched more than 500 satellites, but this is just the beginning. SpaceX aims to launch another 1,600 orbiting routers by the end of 2020. In total SpaceX has plans to place nearly 12,000 satellites in orbit around earth. In 2020 there are roughly 22,000 pieces of space debris orbiting the earth.

2030

Predicted space debris count: 50,000 pieces.

With the number of satellites and items of space junk increasing every decade, at this rate, there could be an estimated 50,000 satellites and pieces of debris in space. This could potentially ruin our view of the night sky forever, as the number of satellites in space will soon greatly outweigh the number of stars which can be seen by the human eye.

What does it look like sending a satellite to space?

Which countries are launching the most satellites?

According to Statista, there are 2,313 satellites currently orbiting the Earth (as of April 2020). When it comes down to the countries most invested in this technology, the data reveals that there are more satellites from the USA than any other country, with a whopping 1,308 satellites launched in their name.

Coming in second is China with 356 satellites which is nearly 1,000 less than the US. And in third place is Multinational with 177 satellites currently in orbit.

But why are there so many satellites in space?

According to the data, 1,440 satellites were launched for commercial purposes. The government is behind 436 satellites and 339 belong to the military. 133 satellites are registered as having civil uses and the remaining 318 have mixed uses.

As humans, we're keen to learn more about how and when we came to be, including the atmosphere around us. Although necessary to explore time and space, the damage these satellites are leaving behind is continuing to grow, which could eventually lead to damage beyond control.

Zoltan Toth-Czifra, Founder of Under Lucky Stars, says: "A few satellites may seem like nothing in the vast area of space, but the junk and debris left behind from space activities causes a number of problems, mainly the increased risk of collision. These designs highlight the impact mankind is having outside of our own planet earth and is a signal that we must clean up our act and monitor launches if we want to continue to explore our perimeters safely."

With plans to send even more satellites into space by the end of 2020, making a stance is now more important than ever. Join us on our mission to #SaveOurStars and sign our petition below.

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