Conquering Earth's space junk problem

shard

a piece of broken metal, glass, or rock, typically having sharp edges = broken parts

collision

crash, impact, accident

debris

rubbish, trash, wreckage

orbit

space path, celestial trajectory, revolving route

threat

danger, risk, menace

commercial

business, trade, profit-making

civil

relating to ordinary citizens

department

division, unit, section

amateur

non-professional, hobbyist, enthusiast

sharply

steeply, dramatically, significantly

leading

prominent, principal, primary

follow through on

continue

deploy

set up, install, position

constellations

groups, clusters, arrays

satellite

spacecraft, orbiters, space probes

traffic

the amount of aircraft, trains, or ships moving along a route

disaster

catastrophe, calamity, tragedy

smash into

crash into, run into

inactive

idle, unused, not running

shrapnel

shards, fragments, debris, splinters

threaten

endanger, menace, jeopardize

altitude

height

human-made

man-made, artificial, created by humans

operator

controller, manager, handler

steer away

avoid, evade, divert

otherwise

alternatively, else, in another way

concern

worry, anxiety, distress

junk

trash, garbage, litter

objects

things

rising

increasing, growing, escalating

rapidly

quickly, swiftly, speedily

researcher

scientist, scholar, investigator

investigating

exploring, examining, researching

attacking

addressing, dealing with, tackling

assess

evaluate, analyzing, examine