Low Earth orbit

Debris orbiting the Earth at more than 17,000 mph has been snared by a prototype "junk hunting" satellite for the first time.

The experimental RemoveDebris satellite first released the metal object and then fired a five metre wide net to capture it from a distance of six metres.

The International Space Station – ISS – circles the earth at 240 miles above the planet, on the edge of space in low earth orbit. The station is crewed by NASA astronauts as well as Russian Cosmonauts and a mixture of Japanese, Canadian and European astronauts as well.