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What’s new: An interesting analysis about space debris and the danger it poses.
Why it’s important:
- Debris can damage and destroy satellites.
- With enough debris in orbit we will begin to see the Kessler Syndrome where debris impacts create more debris with the orbit eventually becoming too dangerous to use. It could even prevent transits through Low Earth Orbit effectively preventing use of space altogether. Some have suggested the syndrome has already begun.
What else to know: More debris is being created all the time. From the article:
“The bad news is, since January 1, 2024, we’ve had 26 rocket bodies abandoned in low-Earth orbit that will stay in orbit for more than 25 years,”
Removing these 50 objects from orbit would cut danger from space junk in half
“In their rush to move quickly, they are adding to the long-term collision hazard.”
A new listing of the 50 most concerning pieces of space debris in low-Earth orbit is dominated by relics more than a quarter-century old, primarily dead rockets left to hurtle through space at the end of their missions.
“The things left before 2000 are still the majority of the problem,” said Darren McKnight, lead author of a paper presented Friday at the International Astronautical Congress in Sydney. “Seventy-six percent of the objects in the top 50 were deposited last century, and 88 percent of the objects are rocket bodies. That’s important to note, especially with some disturbing trends right now.”