‘CATASTROPHIC’ space debris collision ‘inevitable’ which could wipe out technology
A “CATASTROPHIC” collision between space debris which could irradiate satellite-reliant technology on Earth is now extremely probable.
By SEAN MARTIN
Express.co.uk
Wed, May 31, 2017
There is now believed to be an astonishing 170 million pieces of space debris floating in Earth’s upper atmosphere, but only 22,000 are being tracked.
The problem now appears to be out of control, and experts fear that a catastrophic collision could be on the way.
Technologies such as mobile phones, television, GPS and weather related services rely on satellites, so a cataclysmic series of crashes could pose a threat to our already over-reliant need for satellites.
Ben Greene, chief executive of Canberra’s Space Environment Research Centre (SERC) said: “There is so much debris that it is colliding with itself, and creating more debris.
“A catastrophic avalanche of collisions which could quickly destroy all orbiting satellites is now possible.”
Professor Moribah Jah, an expert on space debris from the University of Texas, likened the lack of information on space debris to the meteoric rise of drones.
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