You could be hit by a falling satellite, according to a report to Congress by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The report predicted that by 2035, satellites from large networks like SpaceX's Starlink could fall to the Earth and cause "one person on the planet … to be injured or killed every two years." Satellites like those from Starlink are meant to burn up in Earth’s atmosphere at the end of their service. However, some pieces of satellite debris may not incinerate and instead fall to the planet's surface, posing a risk of injury.
The Aerospace Corporation, the research group commissioned by the FAA to help produce the report, "assessed that the SpaceX spacecraft could each produce three pieces of debris of 300 grams." The group called that a conservative estimate, adding, "With the thousands of satellites expected to reenter, even a small amount of debris can impose a significant risk over time."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Determining the exact risk from satellites is difficult "due to the uncertainties in reentry survivability calculations," Marlon Sorge, executive director of Aerospace's Center for Orbital and Reentry Debris Studies, told SpaceNews. "It is very difficult to get 'ground truth' data on what survives reentry by observing actual reentries as they occur randomly all over the world, not usually in convenient locations." SpaceX claimed the FAA "accepted the Aerospace report without any scrutiny or diligence, and then distributed this incorrect information to Congress."
-
Panspermia: the theory that life was sent to Earth by aliensUnder The Radar New findings have resurfaced an old, controversial idea
-
What's a bridge loan and how could it make buying your next home possible?The Explainer This type of loan has both pros and cons
-
The Week contest: Phone riskPuzzles and Quizzes
-
Panspermia: the theory that life was sent to Earth by aliens
Under The Radar New findings have resurfaced an old, controversial idea
-
Africa could become the next frontier for space programsThe Explainer China and the US are both working on space applications for Africa
-
SpaceX breaks Starship losing streak in 10th testspeed read The Starship rocket's test flight was largely successful, deploying eight dummy satellites during its hour in space
-
NASA is moving away from tracking climate changeThe Explainer Climate missions could be going dark
-
Hurricanes are not exclusive to Earth. They can happen in space.Under the radar These storms may cause navigational problems
-
Rabbits with 'horns' sighted across Coloradospeed read These creatures are infected with the 'mostly harmless' Shope papilloma virus
-
Lithium shows promise in Alzheimer's studySpeed Read Potential new treatments could use small amounts of the common metal
-
Scientists discover cause of massive sea star die-offSpeed Read A bacteria related to cholera has been found responsible for the deaths of more than 5 billion sea stars
