“The Threat of Space Debris: Researchers Call for More Sustainable Launch Systems”

Friday, 5 May 2023 – 14:05 WIB

LIVE Techno – Debris that falls from the remains of a rocket’s launch stage into space has a one in 10 chance of killing someone within the next decade, according to researchers.

They called for more efforts to remove debris from orbit and develop a more sustainable launch system.

By 2020, it is estimated that nearly two-thirds of all space launches will result in the body being left in orbit.

Space debris, as is well known, poses a threat to other active satellites and satellites on the Earth’s surface, especially if they are large enough to re-enter the planet.

According to the European Space Agency (ESA), there are more than 28,000 man-made objects currently in orbit—less than 8 percent of which are actually operational satellites. A larger proportion (11 percent) consists of spent rocket stages and other mission-related objects such as launch adapters and lens caps.

Discarded rocket bodies can injure or even kill a person upon impact, according to a study explored by law scholar Michael Byers of the University of British Columbia (UBC) and colleagues in a Nature Astronomy paper published last July.