<i>Satellite Jam</i>

This computer-generated image released by the European Space Agency (ESA) on April 15 shows trackable objects in Low Earth Orbit (LOE) around Earth from the North Pole. There are now more than 12,000 objects that are monitored in orbit, 11,500 pieces of which are in low Earth orbit, which is at an altitude of between 800 and 1,500 kilometres, where there are many commercial, military, scientific and navigational satellites. In low orbit, debris can stay adrift for decades before they eventually burn up in Earth's atmosphere. Another 1,147 pieces are in geostationary orbit, about satellite orbits in the direction of the Earth's rotation, at an altitude of approximately 35,786 km, where telecommunications satellites are typically deployed.Photo: AFP