In the vast expanse of low-Earth orbit, a ticking time bomb of space junk threatens to unleash a catastrophic chain reaction of collisions, known as the Kessler Syndrome. According to Darren McKnight, a senior technical fellow at LeoLabs, and his coauthors, removing just 50 objects from orbit could cut the danger from space junk in half.
These objects, whizzing around the Earth at nearly 5 miles per second, are the most likely to drive the creation of more debris through collisions with other fragments. Located between 700 and 1,000 kilometers above the Earth, this heavily trafficked region is home to a multitude of defunct satellites, rocket bodies, and other discarded items.
An impact with even a modestly sized object at orbital velocity would create countless pieces of debris, potentially triggering a cascading series of additional collisions. The consequences would be dire, clogging low-Earth orbit with an ever-increasing amount of space junk. A staggering 76 percent of the top 50 objects were deposited in orbit before the year 2000, with 88 percent being rocket bodies.
McKnight notes that this is especially concerning, given recent trends.
"The things left before 2000 are still the majority of the problem," said Darren McKnight, lead author of a paper presented Friday at the ...Related materials: Visit website
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