Cambridge 18 | Test 1 | Passage 3

Conquering Earth’s space junk problem

Last year, commercial companies, military and civil departments and amateurs sent more than 400 satellites into orbit, over four times the yearly average in the previous decade. Numbers could rise even more sharply if leading space companies follow through on plans to deploy hundreds to thousands of large constellations of satellites to space in the next few years.

orbit (noun) [ C or U ]

the curved path through which objects in space move around a planet or star

The satellite is now in a stable orbit.

follow (something) through (phrasal verb)

to do what needs to be done to complete something

He didn't follow through with his promise to help.

deploy (verb) [transitive}

to use something or someone, especially in an effective way

Two scientists were deployed to study the problem.