The news will raise concern over the growing swarms of hazardous debris orbiting the Earth, accumulated after more than five decades of human activity in space.

The magnitude of the two large debris clouds from the collision would not be known for at least several weeks, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said.
"So far, NASA experts have determined that the risk to the space station is elevated. They estimate the risk to be very small and within acceptable limits," NASA spokesman John Yembrick told AFP.