Seven U.S. Delta rockets and a French observation satellite
have exploded in space.
In 1961, Cuban premier Fidel Castro charged that a chunk of
a U.S. spacecraft had fallen on Cuba and killed a cow.
In 1962, a 21-lb. fragment of Soviet Sputnik IV landed at
the intersection of Park and North 8th Streets in Manitowoc,
Wisconsin.
Over 7,000 objects floating in space are being tracked from
earth; only five percent are satellites.
Dodging space junk is a dangerous occupation. A 0.5 milli-
meter metal chip could puncture a space suit and kill an
astronaut walking in space.
In 1978, a Soviet satellite came crashing back to Earth,
contaminating hundreds of square miles of Canadian territory with radiation.
There is air in space, but very little of it. In fact, it is equivalent to a marble in a box 5 miles wide. Most of the gas is captured by the gravitational pull of other celestial bodies.
