Ecuador's satellite possibly damaged by space junk impact

[stevebowers]

Would this be the first time space junk has properly damaged equipment?

Not really. There was a
collision in 2009 between two satellites

In 1996, the
Cerise satellite was hit by catalogued debris

I've seen
photos of paint fragments imbedded in window glass from the Shuttle, so it does happen.

What we need is some way to 'clean the vacuum' around the Earth, to prevent Kessler Syndrome, and especially once the Elevators are built, to prevent debris from impacting the cable.