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NASA has cut the cash for spotting space junk orbiting the Earth. More than 100,000 pieces of debris smaller than 10 centimetres in diameter are in orbit, each carrying enough energy to destroy or seriously damage a satellite. The 10,000 largest pieces are tracked by the US Space Command, but the money for the programme has run out. This year’s budget has been cut by half, and there is no money at all for next year. The cash used to come from NASA’s budget for the space shuttle and International Space Station. Now the agency is looking for new sources of funding, says debris programme manager Nicholas Johnson.