Space Debris: The Consequences of Sending Obsolete Technology into Space

Every time we place a satellite or station into orbit, we are actually sending much more than that into space. After its useful life ends, all this obsolete technology remains in the void, becoming an arsenal of unwanted missiles moving at staggering speeds. We must also add nuts, bolts, bushings and other small objects with impressive accumulated energy. The point is that if we are not more responsible, in the future we could create an orbital prison impossible to navigate...

An old quote attributed to Robert A. Heinlein (the same one from 'Starship Troopers') says that once you are in orbit, you are halfway to anywhere. But others point out that the truly complicated thing is not reaching orbit, but staying there. For example, the International Space Station moves at 7.6 kilometers per second, and such speed is no small thing. Since the beginning of the Space Race in the 1950s, humanity has sent multiple developments to Earth's orbit and beyond. Extraordinary achievements in themselves, but sooner or later they stop working, or are replaced. Now, if obsolete technology already causes headaches on Earth in the form of electronic waste, imagine what it is doing up there, when it is almost impossible to recover:

What do we do with obsolete technology in orbit?

Yes, we are talking about space debris. One of the latest videos published by Kurzgesagt explains it beautifully, and anyone who has played Kerbal Space Program knows it well. Some parts of our rockets burn up in the atmosphere and fall back, but others remain intact, with enough initial energy to maintain a (relatively) stable orbit for years. Currently there are about 2,600 decommissioned satellites, 10,000 objects larger than a monitor, 20,000 objects as large as an apple, 500,000 objects similar to a marble, and 100 million pieces so small that they cannot be tracked. In other words, the space near Earth is becoming a space cemetery, full of lethal shrapnel.

And our infrastructure is there. Communications, GPS, climate studies... the list is long. It is estimated that three or four satellites are lost per year due to space junk impacts, and we still remember well the collision between Iridium 33 and Kosmos 2251. The great threat looming over all this is the so-called Kessler Syndrome, a series of collisions that would lead to a chain reaction, making Earth's orbit a minefield. The good news is that we can still solve the problem. The bad news is that we must start now. SpaceX's reusable rocket strategy is a step in the right direction, but more aggressive developments in space debris collection and disposal are needed.