Satellites now use tiny thrusters to avoid cosmic crashes
At speeds of ten kilometers per second, a stray paint fleck can punch through solid aluminum, turning the space around Earth into a high-stakes game of orbital dodgeball.
Near-Earth orbit has become so crowded that a single stray bolt traveling at orbital velocity carries the kinetic energy of a hand grenade. To survive this environment, modern satellites no longer rely on massive, fuel-hungry engines to change course. Instead, they use electric propulsion systems that provide a thrust so gentle it is comparable to the weight of a single sheet of paper. By firing these tiny thrusters days in advance, operators can shift a satellite's path by just a few millimeters per second, successfully threading the needle between thousands of other objects.