Space in the vicinity around our planet is getting quite full, or at least full for space. We are a messy species, and low-Earth orbit is apparently no exception to our “we’ll clean up later” rule. One concern about the debris is that it could cause the “Kessler Effect” (or Kessler Syndrome).
Simply put, the Kessler Effect is where a single event (such as the explosion of a satellite) in low-Earth orbit creates a chain reaction, as debris destroys other objects in orbit. Should this happen, the debris could keep colliding with other objects, potentially causing communication problems and leaving areas of space inaccessible to spacecraft.
Essentially, it could end up like the film Gravity, but with less George Clooney doing great eyebrow work and more “Hey what happened to my GPS”. At worst, some speculate it could essentially trap us here on Earth, unable to leave.
But, there are more immediate problems to deal with before we have to worry about the Kessler effect; space junk is falling to Earth and crashing into people’s property. NASA is currently being sued by a family in Florida after a piece of equipment used to load batteries onto a cargo pallet onboard the International Space Station remained intact during re-entry, and fell through the roof of their home. Videos from China, meanwhile, show what is suspected to be debris from a Chinese rocket falling down to Earth.
How bad is the problem? Well, apparently bad enough to warrant hotlines. In a statement given to WLOS13 reporter Justin Berger, NASA confirmed that debris found over North Carolina came from SpaceX’s Crew Dragon. In the statement, NASA advised anyone who finds such space debris not to handle it, but to contact SpaceX’s Debris Hotline at 1-866-623-0234 or email [email protected].
SpaceX first set up a hotline for space debris after the SpaceX CRS-7 resupply mission to the International Space Station ended in an explosion.
So far, only one person – Lottie Williams of Tulsa, Oklahoma – is believed to have been hit by falling space debris, after a piece of a Delta II rocket struck her harmlessly on the shoulder as she walked through a park.
Though the odds against this happening to you are astronomical, one study looking at de-orbited rockets and population densities suggested that the odds of somebody getting hit in the next decade are around 10 percent. So maybe jot down that hotline number, just in case.
Source Link: SpaceX Has A Hotline You Can Call If Debris Falls On Your House
