Europe needs its own technology to guard against a growing threat to its satellites from space junk ranging from dead satellites to tiny particles, according to a top adviser to the European Space Agency (ESA).
With the world increasingly reliant on orbital infrastructure to maintain communications links and steer new generations of autonomous vehicles, scientists warn that the danger posed by debris in orbit has grown exponentially.
"We are getting around 100 alarms a day about approaching particles," said Thomas Reiter, an adviser to the European Space Agency (ESA). "Every two weeks, a satellite has to dodge something."