Space junk is causing problems for satellites: “It’s trash. It’s garbage. And there are millions of pieces of it.”

A new study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology warns that climate change, caused by burning coal, oil, and gas, is going to cause major problems for satellites in low Earth orbit as well.

Debris aka trash is circling the Earth

As global warming continues, the upper atmosphere will cool and become less dense, reducing the force which usually pulls space debris back to Earth and cluttering the orbit. MIT researchers calculated that available space for satellites could decrease anywhere from 33% to 82% by the end of this century, depending on future carbon emissions.

“We rely on the atmosphere to clean up our debris,” said study lead author and astrodynamics researcher at MIT, Will Parker. “There’s no other way to remove debris. It’s trash. It’s garbage. And there are millions of pieces of it.”

Millions of pieces of debris are circling the Earth and colliding at the speed and intensity of a bullet. Pieces of space junk coming from past crashes and rocket parts are putting active satellites at risk. According to Orbiting Now, there are 11,905 satellites circling Earth with 7,356 in low orbit, which we use to forecast weather, communicate, navigate, and monitor both environmental and national security issues.

In 2009, two satellites crashed, creating thousands of pieces of space junk. Space weather scientist at the British Antarctic Survey, Ingrid Cnossen, said that the density at 250 miles above Earth is decreasing by about 2% every decade with that potentially increasing as society releases more greenhouse gases. Scientists emphasize the importance of considering climate change’s impact on orbital debris to ensure future sustainability.

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