Huh, nice find guys +rep to OP and Von Dutch.
And yeah I would expect by 3302 there to be A LOT of satellites or even debris around Earth.
I'm sure it was a team effort in FDev with probably separate people doing the concept design, 3D models, coding, and possibly sound effects (do they beep like sputnik?

). All of them deserve a pat on the back for this little addition. Is there a way to +rep FDev...? And no, not the cash shop, as I'm 99.9% certain the people that worked on this are not directly affected by sales in there. I suppose if an FDev staff sees this, pass my compliments if you will.
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Have you guys been to wreckage sites above a planet? Like while in orbital cruise or just above the height for orbital cruise. I know its a relatively simple concept (and possibly coding task) to have the containers and debris move towards the planet slowly, but it actually does make scooping them a bit of a challenge. Then again there's possibility I'm not very good at cargo scooping. I'm fairly certain this is new, I don't remember them being present before 2.1, but then again I didn't drop out at many USS's before 2.1, it usually wasn't worth it except when you had to for missions (thank goodness they fixed/tweaked that).
These additions adds some spice to the game. Keep them coming FDev.