Russian and US satellites collide

[Dantheman62]

It's very,very crowded up there! I was in satellite communications back in 1983. That's when communications satellites were at 4 degree spacing. After only a couple years we then went to 2 degree spacing because things were becoming crowded. Now, who knows how close they are!

Just to give you an example, communication satellites are at about 22,000 miles up in a geostationary orbit, one degree down here means 70 miles up there, in otherwards if you were to move your little satellite dish 1 degree either east/west or north/south, that's actually a movement of 70 miles up there.

So let's say that satellites are now in 1 degree spacing up there, that means that they have only a 70 mile area to stay in so they won't bump into another one. That's not much room!