Like satellites, LEO debris whizzes around the planet at 17,000 miles an hour (27,400 kilometers an hour) or more. The orbits of these objects differ in direction, orbital plane, and speed ...

The I.S.S. will depart an orbital environment significantly different from the one in which it was built, between 1998 and 2011. The number of satellites in orbit has multiplied more than tenfold ...