A family in Naples, Florida, is filing a claim against NASA for damages to their home after a piece of space debris from the International Space Station blew off their roof earlier this year.
NASA confirmed last week that a large piece of debris found along a trail in North Carolina last May came from a SpaceX Dragon rocket, according to the Charlotte Observer, and an NC resident in the next county heard a piece bounce off the house his.
Large fiery streaks of light appeared over Los Angeles in April, which turned out to be space debris from a Chinese spacecraft, according to the US Space Command.
A massive piece of an Indian missile washed ashore in Australia last year.
What is space debris?
As we send more and more items into low Earth orbit (LEO), there is a greater chance that the pieces will come back to us. Space debris, also known as orbital debris or simply space junk, is any man-made object in orbit around Earth that has no use.
“LEO is orbital space junk,” NASA said. “There are millions of pieces of space debris flying in LEO. Most orbital debris includes man-made objects, such as pieces of spacecraft, small pieces of paint from a spacecraft, parts of rockets, defunct satellites, or explosions. of orbiting objects flying through space at high speed.”
Space debris is caused by malfunctioning satellites, meteorite impacts, and even simply tools dropped by astronauts on spacewalks.
According to NASA, space debris can include:
- Abandoned spacecraft and launch vehicle upper stages
- Carrier for multiple loads
- Debris intentionally released during spacecraft separation from its launch vehicle or during mission operations
- Debris created as a result of spacecraft or upper stage explosions or collisions
- Solid Effluents of Rocket Engines
- Small ink spots released by thermal stress or small particle impacts
Much of it came from satellite explosions and collisions, NASA said.
In 2007, China deliberately destroyed its Fengyun-1C weather satellite to test an anti-satellite device, leaving a cloud of debris and debris in LEO. An American communications satellite (Iridium 33) and an abandoned Russian military satellite (Kosmos 2251) accidentally collided in 2007, sending more debris into orbit, some of which is expected to remain there until the end of the century. These two incidents resulted in a 70% increase in space debris in LEO.
There is also space debris that never made it to space. In 2015, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket exploded shortly after liftoff, raining into the Atlantic off the coast of Florida-Georgia, and pieces appeared months later on the Isles of Scilly off the southwest tip of Cornwall, England.
SpaceX’s Starship rocket exploded shortly after liftoff on its first test flight in April last year, hurling chunks of metal and concrete into a national wildlife refuge and sending debris miles from the launch pad in Boca Chica, Texas. . Environmental groups sued the Federal Aviation Administration, saying Elon Musk’s company was allowed to bypass environmental reviews,
Space debris:Why debris in Earth’s orbit is becoming a big problem
How much space debris is there in the sky?
As of June, the European Space Agency estimates there are more than 12,400 tons of objects in Earth’s orbit, including up to 36,500 pieces of debris about 4 inches and larger that have been cataloged.
But not all objects are being tracked. ESA says based on projections, there are 130 million pieces of space debris in orbit between 1/4 inch and 4 inches traveling at high speeds, posing potential hazards to spacecraft and satellites. Most small objects will burn up on entry if Earth’s gravity knocks them down, but some pieces are large enough to make an impact.
“There are no international space laws to clear debris in our LEO,” NASA said.
Space agencies around the world are working on methods of mitigating space debris, but removing small pieces orbiting the Earth is an extremely complicated problem.
What are the chances of getting hit by space debris?
Your risk of being injured by falling space debris is less than 1 in 100 billion, according to the European Space Agency. But the chances are (slightly) increasing.
“Over the past 50 years, on average, a cataloged portion of debris fell back to Earth each day,” NASA said. Most pieces burn up on entry, and pieces that land on Earth are more likely to hit an ocean or sparsely populated areas such as the Canadian Tundra, Australian Outback or Siberia.
However, space exploration and satellite launches have grown exponentially in recent years. According to ESA data, almost 2,500 pieces of space debris fell to Earth in 2022, although that number fell back to around 1,500 last year.
Look at the sky:A huge satellite crashed into Earth and no one knew where it would land. How is it possible?
Who is responsible for damage from space debris?
This was elaborated by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs in 1972. The Liability Convention, elaborating on Article 7 of the Outer Space Treaty, established that “a launching State shall be absolutely liable to pay compensation for damage caused by its space objects on the Earth’s surface or in aircraft and responsible for damage due to its defects in space,” UN-Space said.
“The Convention also provides for procedures for resolving claims for compensation.”
Last year the Federal Communications Commission fined Dish Network $150,000 for failing to bring an aging satellite into a safe orbit where it said it would, as part of a crackdown on space debris.
What should I do if I find space debris?
NASA has a space debris hotline to call: 866-623-0234. The agency says if you find or notice a piece of space debris, contact authorities and avoid touching it.
After the 2015 explosion, SpaceX set up a recovery hotline and email address for anyone who found debris, and it’s still available. You can call the Waste Recovery Hotline at 866-392-0035 or email recovery@spaceX.com.
