The risk of a devastating collision between objects in orbit is a significant risk, and one that is only intensifying with the increasing amount of junk left in space. UNU-EHS’ Interconnected Disaster Risks report 2023 included the issue of space debris as one of six risk tipping points the world faces that could affect our socioecological systems. The report's warning is highly relevant as cases of space junk literally falling from the sky seem to make media headlines every few months. Recently a large metal ring from a rocket came firing back down to Earth, crashing near a small village in Kenya.
An article in The Guardian this week covering the story from Kenya sheds further light on the broader issue of space pollution and the safety concerns for people back on Earth. The article features IDR 2023’s research on the topic and takes up the report’s warning that we soon may reach a risk tipping point if no action is taken. The tipping point is concerning because as more objects are launched into space, often without a plan to bring them down, the density of objects will eventually make a chain reaction of collisions extremely likely. Millions of pieces of debris, ranging from the size of a vehicle to an earring, would be left in the wake of such a crash, rendering space — particularly Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) — unusable. If a catastrophic collision does occur in space, we could be left without our eyes in the sky — the space-based infrastructure that we rely on such as GPS and Earth monitoring satellites. Furthermore, current projections estimate more than 100,000 spacecrafts will be launched into space by 2030.
The article also acknowledges the report's important call for multilateral cooperation to tackle the problem, as there are no binding international rules for dealing with space debris.
To read the full article in The Guardian click here. To read the Technical Report on Space Debris, click here.
