Space and Earth debris

"Baikonur", a weekly local newspaper, gives on page 3 under the heading "Kosmoport", articles related to space activities in general and on the cosmodrome in particular.

On issue dated 26/02/10, this page was dedicated to Space Debris with 2 main articles:.
Who will remove the orbital junk? was the headline of the first article,

followed by: Russia wants to get rid of the space debris for the future generations.

These articles, like media in general, underline the increasing number of space debris over the past years and the associated risks if nothing is done. In addition, the unforeseen spacecraft collision in 2009 between Iridium-33 and decommissioned Kosmos 2251 put into perspective the dramatic increase of unexpected space debris if such accidents are not properly prevented.
Both articles draw the attention on the urgency to tackle seriously with this issue and the proposed ways of investigation. ESA, though it was not namely quoted in the newspaper, is perfectly aware of the danger and has already taken initiative together with other world space Agencies and actors to propose solutions to this complex question. For instance, some of the spacecrafts of the next generation will have to be designed for being de-orbited once their missions are over.
Finally, the Russian newspaper mentions NASA as a key player which has started to perform a mapping of the debris in space larger than 10cm.

In Baikonur city one can see on the ground few rocket debris as showed by the few pictures here after. But let's make it clear: these debris are fortunately not the results of launch failures falling from the sky. Otherwise opening an helmet shop down town would look as a promising business :-)
If our information are correct, they have been brought there and used for different purpose such as for instance to burn waste (as it can be seen by the trace of combustion of the insulation material)
Three large cylinders (ca 2 meters diameters) can be seen on the bank of the Syr Daria river.

It is may be exaggerated to say that they are now part of the landscape, or represent any kind of "open air art"'!

Another large bit can be seen closer to habitations in the North/western part of the city.

Credits: Raphael
A closer view shows burning on the external surface.

Credits: Raphael
Usually, drop zones are well defined and known far before launch. Ad-hoc measures are taken to prevent any impact on inhabited areas, keep populations safe, and remove the debris quickly once they fall on the ground (and even sometimes in seas or oceans).
For CryoSat-2 (CS-2), an agreement has been signed with Turkmenistan for the Dniepr first stage drop zone. This debris will swiftly be collected and disposed by a specialised team after launch. The Payload Fairing(PLF) and the Dniepr second stage will fall in the Indian Ocean.
To be complete, the Space Head Module (SHM) will remain in orbit. Due to the launcher design to free the CS-2 spacecraft in space, the SHM will split in 2 parts: Platform A and Platform B together with the Gas Dynamic Shield... adding then 2 space debris to the NASA register.