Meet Amber Yang. She's trying to prevent a space debris catastrophe

By Thomas Page, CNN

Updated 6:56 AM ET, Fri January 26, 2018

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College first-year Amber Yang has won a number of prizes for her method of predicting the path of orbital debris. Scroll through to find out why these often tiny piece of matter in Earth's orbit pose such a problem for space missions.
Photos: Space debris: Small objects, big problem
College first-year Amber Yang has won a number of prizes for her method of predicting the path of orbital debris. Scroll through to find out why these often tiny piece of matter in Earth's orbit pose such a problem for space missions.
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Space debris is an issue NASA has been aware of since our first excursions beyond Earth. One recent report stated that debris as small as 0.12 inches across "<a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/news/sensor_to_monitor_orbital_debris_outside_ISS" target="_blank">could pose danger to human spaceflight</a>." This photo, taken in August 1960, shows a 0.8 inch piece of polyethylene hitting an aluminum target at 19,500 feet per second, as part of an impact test conducted by NASA's Ames Research Center.
Photos: Space debris: Small objects, big problem
Space debris is an issue NASA has been aware of since our first excursions beyond Earth. One recent report stated that debris as small as 0.12 inches across "could pose danger to human spaceflight." This photo, taken in August 1960, shows a 0.8 inch piece of polyethylene hitting an aluminum target at 19,500 feet per second, as part of an impact test conducted by NASA's Ames Research Center.
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Hyper-velocity testing is a key part of engineering spacecraft fit for orbit. This 2009 image from the European Space Agency shows the effect of a 0.47 inch, 0.06 ounce aluminum ball hitting a 7-inch thick aluminum block at 4.2 miles per second. The agency says the pressure and temperature of such an impact "exceeds those found at the center of the Earth."
Photos: Space debris: Small objects, big problem
Hyper-velocity testing is a key part of engineering spacecraft fit for orbit. This 2009 image from the European Space Agency shows the effect of a 0.47 inch, 0.06 ounce aluminum ball hitting a 7-inch thick aluminum block at 4.2 miles per second. The agency says the pressure and temperature of such an impact "exceeds those found at the center of the Earth."
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This 2004 image shows an "eyebolt," a two-inch component which had detached from a solar array. Along with spent rockets and dead satellites, other objects -- including a <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/s/411233/astronauts-lose-100000-tool-kit/" target="_blank">$100,000 tool kit </a>and the creator of "Star Trek's" ashes -- have ended up in orbit. Some will quickly slip out of orbit and burn up on reentry, while others will circle the planet for years. Intersecting orbits can cause a huge hazard for satellites and space stations.
Photos: Space debris: Small objects, big problem
This 2004 image shows an "eyebolt," a two-inch component which had detached from a solar array. Along with spent rockets and dead satellites