Did you know that 8,950 satellites have been launched into orbit so far? The most recent estimates indicate that about 5,000 of these satellites remain in orbit despite reaching the end of their lives and no longer serving any purpose.

It is estimated that only about 1,950 of these satellites remain operational, and the rest have become space debris. In addition to these now-defunct satellites, there are thousands of bits of debris known as 'space junk'.

Due to the fact that there's no safe way to get this garbage out of space, this junk is a huge problem. Up to now.

In an announcement on Wednesday, the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology reported that Chinese scientists had successfully unfurled a drag sail to deorbit the Long March 2 rocket that was recently launched. It was the first time such an experiment was conducted with a rocket.

Drag sails are kite-like membranes that measure 25 square meters (269 square feet) when fully unfolded. A human hair's diameter and thickness, along with the rocket's final stage's 300kg (661 pounds) weight, have resulted in an atmospheric drag that accelerates orbital decay.

Any low-Earth orbit satellite that has become space garbage can be retrieved using drag sails, which offer a low-cost and mature technology solution. As they are lightweight and flexible, they can be folded up and placed on a spacecraft before it is launched.

When they approach the debris, they unfold automatically, helping to send the spacecraft back to the atmosphere, where it will disintegrate. Junk can deorbit much faster using drag sails than letting it deorbit naturally, which may take years or decades.

Due to its long history of polluting space, China should find a solution to this ongoing problem. After presumably being launched in October 2014, a piece of a China space rocket drifted aimlessly through space in March 2022 and crashed into the moon.

Fortunately, no one was injured in the collision, but the debris could have caused significant damage to the International Space Station.

An international group of engineers, led by University of Utah professor Jake J. Abbott, developed a new method for removing space junk in November 2021 that uses spinning magnets to manipulate orbital debris, making its collection and management easier. A changing magnetic field circulates electrons in the metal debris in charged loops under the new concept.