Rocket parts left in orbit from space launches have a six to 10 per cent chance of severely injuring or killing a human being in the next decade
Researchers from the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Canada said
Researchers noted that governments need to take collective action and mandate that rocket parts are guided safely back to Earth after their use
Is it permissible to regard the loss of human life as just a cost of doing business, or is it something that we should seek to protect when we can?
And that’s the crucial point here: we can protect against this risk,” said study lead author Michael Byers
The researchers noted that when objects such as satellites are launched into space, they use rockets, parts of which are often left in orbit
If these leftover rocket parts have a low enough orbit, they can re-enter the atmosphere in an uncontrolled way
The study, published In the journal Nature Astronomy
They analysed over 30 years of data from a public satellite catalogue, and calculated the potential risk to human life over the next 10 years
The researchers also looked at the corresponding rate of uncontrolled rocket body re-entries, their orbits, and human population data