blank space in the vicinity around our planet is getting quite full , or at least full for space . We are a mussy species , and low - earthly concern orbit is manifestly no exclusion to our " we ’ll strip up later " normal . One concern about the debris is that it could cause the " Kessler Effect " ( orKessler Syndrome ) .
Simply put , the Kessler Effect is where a single event ( such as the burst of a satellite ) in low - Earth orbit creates a mountain chain reaction , as junk destruct other objects in ambit . Should this happen , the debris could keep colliding with other object , potentially causing communication problems and leaving country of infinite untouchable to spacecraft .
Essentially , it could end up like the filmGravity , but with less George Clooney doing great eyebrow piece of work and more " Hey what chance to my GPS " . At worst , some theorise it could essentially trap us here on Earth , ineffective to bequeath .
But , there are more immediate job to apportion with before we have to worry about the Kessler impression ; space junk is falling to Earth and crashing into people ’s property . NASA iscurrently being suedby a fellowship in Florida after a piece of equipment used to load batteries onto a cargo palette onboard the International Space Station stay intact during re - entry , and drop through the ceiling of their home . video from China , meanwhile , show what is distrust to be debris from a Chinese rocket engine falling down to Earth .
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How forged is the problem ? Well , apparently unsound enough to justify hotlines . In a command given to WLOS13 reporterJustin Berger , NASA support that junk come up over North Carolina come fromSpaceX ’s Crew Dragon . In the affirmation , NASA advised anyone who find such blank space dust not to handle it , but to get hold of SpaceX ’s Debris Hotline at 1 - 866 - 623 - 0234 or emailrecovery@spaceX.com .
SpaceXfirst correct upa hotline for space junk after the SpaceX CRS-7 resupply commission to the International Space Stationended in an plosion .
So far , only one somebody – Lottie Williams of Tulsa , Oklahoma – is believed to have been hit byfalling infinite debris , after a piece of a Delta II projectile move her harmlessly on the berm as she walked through a parking lot .
Though the betting odds against this happen to you are astronomical , one field look at de - orbited rockets and population densities suggested that the odds ofsomebodygetting hit in the next X are around10 percent . So perhaps jot down that hotline number , just in pillowcase .
