Space Junk and It's Impact
As the years have gone on with countless missions up to the ISS and
technology for satellites have become smaller, more accessible and not
as expensive to launch into orbit, it raises the question of where all
of the broken and outdated debris will go. Space crafts and pieces that
have broken off, been damaged, become outdated or redundant are still in
orbit in space today. Researchers have quoted that there are around
20,000 objects still floating, and they are creating major traffic risks
in orbits around the planet (Witze, 2018).
Hundreds and millions of dollars of science equipment and important
communications could become damaged or obliterated unless researchers
begin to come up with solutions to clean up our orbits of old space
junk. Also, if big enough and falling out of orbit, space junk can
become dangerous to human life, becoming projectiles and causing damage
or injury. Not too long ago, on May 8, 2021, a piece of China's Long
March 5B rocket was uncontrollably re-entering Earth's atmosphere.
Luckily, this object did not hit populated areas; instead, it landed in
the middle of the Indian Ocean (Poonuganti, 2023). However, this shows
scientists the need to get space junk under control before more
considerable consequences, such as pollutants, objects and radioactive
material, start to fall out of orbit and become threats to our planet's
atmosphere and populated areas.
3 Ways Aerospace Engineers are Trying to
Decrease Space Junk
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Active Debris Removal
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New Satellite Designs
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Tracking System
Conclusion
Without the daily innovations of humanity and the competitive drive behind space exploration, we would not have the countless technologies, algorithms, and opportunities we take advantage of today. Thanks to these discoveries and advancements, we benefit from faster answers and better solutions than those available a century ago. However, as the future proposes more abundance in space expansion and exploration, we must be more aware of our accountability to ensure a safe and secure future environmentally and physically to keep pushing further out into space.