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CloudWatcher

(2,021 posts)
5. Kessler syndrome coming soon, to a LEO near you!
Tue Apr 29, 2025, 01:26 AM
Apr 29

We're still in the Golden Age of being able to use Low Earth Orbit for cool stuff, but at this rate we can look forward to the Kessler syndrome https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kessler_syndrome very soon.

The Kessler syndrome is troublesome because of the domino effect and feedback runaway wherein impacts between objects of sizable mass spall off debris from the force of the collision. The fragments can then hit other objects, producing even more space debris: if a large enough collision or explosion were to occur, such as between a space station and a defunct satellite, or as the result of hostile actions in space, then the resulting debris cascade could make prospects for long-term viability of satellites in particular low Earth orbits extremely low


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