The European Space Agency recently released a video, warning of the dangers that cosmic debris pose especially to human-made objects in the space such as the satellite or even the astronauts themselves. International scientists will reportedly be meeting in Germany next week in order to discuss the issue of how ‘millions of objects’ floating in the orbit around the world may lead to a disastrous collision in the space.
Over 4,900 space launches have taken place since 1957 – leaving millions of objects behind in space. Out of these, almost 94 per cent objects no longer serve any useful purpose. ESA fears that these objects could one day lead to a catastrophic harm to human-made technology.
Speaking in the ESA video Holger Krag, head of space debris at the agency, said of an impact: “It is not comparable to a gunshot. The energy contained in a one centimetre (0.4 inch) particle hitting a satellite at that velocity, roughly corresponds to an exploding grenade.”
“These collisions generate more fragments, and these fragments are candidates for new collisions to come,” he added.
Over 4,900 space launches have taken place since 1957 – leaving millions of objects behind in space. Out of these, almost 94 per cent objects no longer serve any useful purpose. ESA fears that these objects could one day lead to a catastrophic harm to human-made technology.
Speaking in the ESA video Holger Krag, head of space debris at the agency, said of an impact: “It is not comparable to a gunshot. The energy contained in a one centimetre (0.4 inch) particle hitting a satellite at that velocity, roughly corresponds to an exploding grenade.”
“These collisions generate more fragments, and these fragments are candidates for new collisions to come,” he added.