Time (April 16)
There’s a “looming risk of too many satellites and debris in space.” Current counts indicate there are over 525,000 objects larger than 1 cm and over 100 million of all sizes. “That’s a huge problem, since even such small bits of scrap can carry the bang of a bullet when they’re traveling at orbital speed.” And each collision generates more “more debris clouds, which would strike still more spacecraft, leading to a chain reaction known as the Kessler syndrome that could potentially wipe out whole flocks of spacecraft in that orbital band.”
Tags: 100 million, Chain reaction, Collision, Debris, Debris clouds, Kessler syndrome, Looming, Objects, Orbital speed, Risk, Satellites, Scrap, Space, Spacecraft
The Economist (September 22)
“There is an easy way out of the crisis in shipping. If enough lines scrapped their ships, the amount of spare capacity in the industry would fall.” But this is easier said than done. Few players want to scrap enough of their own capacity. “Until some serious scrapping takes place, do not be surprised if more shipping lines declare bankruptcy.”
