Recently we’ve seen a string of stories in the news regarding objects falling from space. Both the universe and humanity have contributed to these episodes, such as a recent fireball that burned bright over New York City, or the Florida family who in April received quite the surprise when a piece of refuse from the International Space Station crashed through the roof of their home. So, what’s going on? Are we now living in the space-junk-pocalypse?
To put it simply, no. Objects falling from the heavens is not a new phenomenon. Over 3,600 years ago, in the Dead Sea valley, evidence points to the destruction of a city from a fireball bursting in the air and causing the deaths of around 8,000 inhabitants. Russia has been hit twice in the last century or so, with the 1908 Tunguska event leveling 80 million trees across 830 square miles of unpopulated Siberia, and again in 2013 when the city of Chelyabinsk experienced a massive shock wave from an approximately 59-foot space rock that caused millions of dollars in damage to more than 7,200 buildings.
Smaller and more isolated events can still cause harm. In 1888 a town in Iraq experienced a bolide that exploded and rained down stones on the villagers, killing one and paralyzing another. Closer to home, Alabama resident Ann Hodges was resting on her couch in 1954 when a grapefruit-sized rock smashed through her roof, bounced off her radio and smacked her on the side of her torso.
Since the dawn of the Space Age, with the launch of Sputnik I on October 4, 1957, we humans have continuously sent terrestrial materials into orbit around Earth. As satellites age and die, or fail prematurely, orbital decay drags these inert bodies from the sky, and the intense heat of atmospheric friction often disintegrates most if not all of the object. What remains has a high probability of falling in an ocean or some inhospitable corner of the Earth, but the law of averages tells us that the more stuff we put up there, the more we will see some coming back down.
On May 9 this year a farmer in Saskatchewan was prepping his fields for seed when he found an object the size of a truck hood sticking out of the ground. This was the second time in two years that a piece of a SpaceX rocket had survived reentry, against expectations, but that doesn’t make that company the only culprit. In 2000 there were 85 orbital launches worldwide; 2023 saw 223 launches, and 2024 is set to blow that record out of the sky, pun intended.
Because more players have entered the growing space economy, the UN Office of Space Affairs has formulated ground rules for both government and commercial entities and the liabilities they incur. Today 115 countries are parties to the Outer Space Treaty, which says the launching state (government) is ultimately responsible for anything that originates from its sovereignty, which is often passed on to private space companies through insurance policies. Likewise, most standard home-insurance policies cover falling debris as well.
So rest assured, Chicken Little, you have a far better chance of winning the lottery or being eaten by a shark than of being hit by space junk. But it does happen!
If you would like to learn more about the sky, telescopes, or socialize with other amateur astronomers, visit us at prescottastronomyclub.org or Facebook @PrescottAstronomyClub to find the next star party, Star Talk, or event.
Adam England is the owner of Manzanita Financial and moonlights as an amateur astronomer, writer, and interplanetary conquest consultant. Follow his rants and exploits on Twitter @AZSalesman or at Facebook.com/insuredbyadam.
