There was still no situation when the cosmic garbage fragment crashed into a passenger plane during its flight, but if this happens, the consequences will be disastrous. A new study published in Scientific Reports shows that the risk of a collision of cosmic garbage with aircraft is growing and will increase in the coming decades, writes Sciencealert.
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Scientists simulated the trajectories of the recovered steps of missiles falling to the ground and compared them with the data of aircraft flights around the world. They also included in the model of the trajectory of falling non -working satellites. The results showed a tendency threatening passenger aviation transport and passengers security. As the study shows, the probability of fragments of cosmic garbage into passenger aircraft in recent years has increased and has been growing all the time.
Over the past few years, the number of missile launches and satellites into space has increased significantly. The number of passenger air transportation around the world has also increased. In orbit, approximately 2,300 spaces of space missiles and thousands of non -working satellites are currently rotated. All this should return back to Earth in the near future.
Although most of this cosmic garbage should burn in the atmosphere, yet some fragments may not collapse. As the study shows, even tiny pieces of cosmic garbage that fell into the fuselage of the aircraft or in its engine can lead to disaster.
According to scientists, the uncontrolled return of space objects to Earth creates a huge risk for passenger aircraft. Although so far the probability of such a collision is low, it increases.
The study showed that the risk of a collision of cosmic garbage with aircraft has grown especially if we are talking about the largest airports around the world. Scientists believe that this risk will only grow over the next decades.
The problem is aggravated by the difficulty of tracking these falling space objects. This often forces local authorities in different countries to close large areas of airspace as a precaution, which leads to delays and cancellations of flights.
Scientists say that there is a solution to this problem. It is necessary to invest in the creation of systems for the controlled return of the waste stages of missiles and satellites. Although this technology already exists, it is currently used only for 35% of space launches.
Scientists say that the situation with cosmic garbage worsens and does not need to wait for a piece of this garbage crashes on the plane, which will lead to disaster. You need to start solving the problem now.
As Focus already wrote, another study showed that it was urgent to solve the huge problem of cosmic garbage until this led to a catastrophe of a planetary scale.
Focus also wrote that astronomers made a new discovery about dark matter. Past studies have shown that there were fewer dark matter in the earliest galaxies than now, but now the astronomers have received other results.