Space debris expert: Orbits will be lost—and people will die—later this decade

Up until about a decade ago, an average of 80 to 100 satellites were launched annually. Some reentered Earth's atmosphere quickly, while others will stay in space for a long time.

It seems quaint now. The number of objects launched into space has more than doubled in the last five years due to the rise of communications networks and small satellites.

According to the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, there was an annual number greater than 300 last year. The number of objects launched went over 1,000 for the first time in 2020. The total has already surpassed 2000 There will be more broadband-from-space networks on the way.

As the number of satellites increases, so does the amount of debris in low- Earth orbit. The Chinese Long March 6A rocket's upper stage broke apart after being used. More than 300 pieces of trackable debris can be found at an altitude of 500 to 1000 km. More than 1,000 fragments were created when Russia shot down its own satellite. The International Space Station has to avoid this debris.

The heavens above will break eventually. There is a lot of junk out there.

There are hundreds of thousands of pieces of debris that can't be tracked. The small objects have the same energy as a falling anvil because of their fast speeds. There are tens of thousands of pieces of trackable debris the size of a softball that have the power of a bomb. Humans are creating more of this debris by dragging it down into Earth's atmosphere and burning it up.

Ars spoke with an astronomer from the University of Texas Austin to understand how humans could clean up their act. One of the foremost voices in the field of space debris is a man named Jah, who calls for the preservation of low- Earth orbit. He is the chief scientist for Privateer Space, a company he co-founded with Apple Computer co- founder Steve Wozniak.

The interview has been edited to make it clearer.