"space debris II" visualizes the population of waste objects that have resulted from explosions and collisions and that are now in orbit around the Earth. In 2007 China launched an anti-satellite missile, which destroyed a defunct weather satellite orbiting in space with a mass of 750 kg. Fragments from the explosion collided with other objects, resulting in a doubling of the amount of space debris then in orbit. Yet another critical factor is that the residual propellant in spent rocket stages and derelict satellites frequently causes them to explode. These objects orbit at speeds of approximately 28,000 kmph and pose a serious threat to satellites, space stations, and operational space flights. Each spherule in the picture represents a real object orbiting in space.

The artwork visualizes the amount of second generation space debris from low Earth orbit through to geostationary orbit. Drawn from a data archive, each spherule in the picture represents a real object orbiting in space in the year 2012. The visualization was realized in collaboration with the Institute of Aerospace Systems/TU Braunschweig, Germany, the world’s leading authority on the tracking of space debris.