11/01/2025
Space trash is falling from the sky. And that's not the worst of it.
This video of an alleged decommissioned satellite that fell on a car in Boston reveals something much darker about the thousands of satellites orbiting Earth.
Space debris has evolved from a theoretical concern to a tangible reality. According to a article, in May 2024, a farmer near Saskatchewan found space debris in his fields, followed by a similar finding in North Carolina. These incidents are not isolated - in March, "an ISS support released by NASA crashed into a house in Florida," although fortunately there were no injuries.
The problem is more serious than it appears. Experts cited in the article estimate that "there are more than half a million small fragments of debris flying around Earth." Even the smallest particles, traveling at "22,000 miles per hour, can ruin a critical satellite or threaten the ISS."
The situation could worsen significantly. The article notes that "some experts suggest there will be more than 60,000 active satellites by 2030." Without immediate action, there is a risk that the planet will be surrounded by a cloud of garbage that makes "orbital zones uninhabitable for human activity and space-based devices that enable modern life."
Proposed solutions include new regulations, such as the recent Federal Communications Commission rule that "requires satellite disposal no more than five years after the end of their useful life," a significant improvement over the "United Nations' 25-year standard." Innovative solutions are also being explored, such as the example of "Japan recently building a satellite primarily made of wood."
The article concludes that this is an international problem that requires a new convention governing space conduct, especially considering that current treaties "forged in the 1960s and 1970s prohibit countries from touching each other's material," which complicates cleanup efforts.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/interactive/2024/space-trash-debris-spacex/
