A massive chain reaction where every satellite in orbit turns into space junk seems plausible. My understanding is military conflict triggering satellite destruction could achieve this (most likely scenario, in my opinion). In such an event, would it become impossible to reach orbit or do we have ideas about how we could circumvent this challenge? Or would humanity be trapped on the planet for tens/hundreds of thousands of years until enough space junk were to de-orbit itself?
Amazing article! I will share it with a friend of mine who teaches "space garbage removal". I will also add Space Sweepers to my watching list.
This topic has given me anxiety for a long time.
A massive chain reaction where every satellite in orbit turns into space junk seems plausible. My understanding is military conflict triggering satellite destruction could achieve this (most likely scenario, in my opinion). In such an event, would it become impossible to reach orbit or do we have ideas about how we could circumvent this challenge? Or would humanity be trapped on the planet for tens/hundreds of thousands of years until enough space junk were to de-orbit itself?