Patrick Schroder notes there's been more than 60,000 space launches, over the last 60 years. There's now 56,450 tracked objects, orbiting this planet. Since 1961, more than 560 orbital fragmentation events have also taken place. The created debris, is making life more hazardous for astronauts as well as folk on the ground. Not everything burns up, as it re-enters the atmosphere (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jan/13/space-junk-rockets-satellites-hazards-regulation). Things are getting more problematic. Commercial organisations are increasingly entering the 'space race', making it even more likely that space junk will accumulate. There's also likely to be duplication of effort, driven by competing communications systems as well as alternative 'space tourism' initiatives. Folk on the ground, have already had damage to their properties. People might well be killed. It will be interesting to see how courts react to lawsuits in the more developed parts of the globe. It's also worth reiterating, that space junk also makes life very difficult for astronomy.
No comments:
Post a Comment