Will we ever be able to get off this rock? Space is the new frontier for tourism, exploration and adventure.  Few have been privileged to have ever travelled beyond Earth’s atmosphere, yet whilst we are experiencing expediential technological advancements in the field, humanity’s prodigious littering and nonchalant attitude may keep us alone and isolated on this pale blue dot.

With the recent “meteor” sightings in the North of England, confirmed as being most likely “space junk” or parts of a satellite or spacecraft burning up as it re-entered the atmosphere, does the extent of humankind’s carelessness know no bounds? With most of the “junk” being dead satellites, surplus fuel tanks and even astronaut’s gloves, over 8000 “waste” objects are thought to be orbiting Earth today.

In 2009 the first recorded satellite – satellite collision, head on, travelling at 4 miles per second, expelled a thousand splinters of molten metal. The dead Kosmos 2251 satellite and the working Iridium 33 satellite had a combined mass of one and a half tonnes. When they collided, they expelled over 100,000 fragments and the sheer force of the collision destroyed both of the satellites.   Though the universe is vast and of awesome dimensions, the electrical debris set to precise calculations of velocity and orbit can remain circumnavigating for millennia. The destructive force of fragments traveling at super velocities are astronomic. A small bolt or nut will punch with the weight of a grenade. Flecks of paint from NASA’s space shuttles, a tenth of a millimetre in diameter, regularly puncture shuttle’s windscreens.

So why are we trapped? The Low Earth Orbit, 500 miles above us, is the crucial cruising height of many of our commercial satellites. Much like commuter routes for aircraft, traffic on these galactic highways is increasing rapidly. Whilst space shuttles and the International Space Station lie only 220 and 270 miles above us, and are able to manoeuver around cannoning satellites, the possibility of sending another Curiosity on Mars or beyond will be lost within a 100 years, severing contact from the rest of our galaxy. Though the point of no return has not yet been reached, it is inevitable that it will occur at the current rate. The expense, practicality and political tenability to remedy the situation are beyond the metallic shroud. The debris instead sparks a chain reaction with no natural process of reversibility. Despite the apocalyptic undertone, NASA and the UN have both issued policies to mitigate the damage, yet at any rate an alien invasion appears increasingly unlikely.

Words: Henry Beach