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GibsonMaestro t1_jbvtcgu wrote

How long before there's too much debris to travel into space?

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Annicity t1_jbw69s9 wrote

As far as I understand, a long time, space is so very, very big. That doesn't mean we should disregard pollution, and it's great to see interest in it. The biggest risk right now is the loss of capital, we are a long way away from Kessler syndrome.

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GibsonMaestro t1_jbw71py wrote

But isn’t the space in our orbit much more finite? I’m thinking about a ring of debris around the place that makes travel impossible

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Dr-Causti t1_jbwr1wl wrote

Wait till this guy you replied to hears about gravity 🤯

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No_Huckleberry_2905 t1_jc13the wrote

travelling though orbit wont be a problem, but the risk for space stations in the most crowded altitudes of low earth orbit increases by some amount, yes.

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slackfrop t1_jbwyhe0 wrote

It may be a long time until the likelihood is considered high, but it could happen at any time in a domino fashion. That’s why they track every piece they can, but errors happen.

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Dr-Causti t1_jbwqyk3 wrote

Probably impossible to say as nobody can forsee our future space traffic, but at some point it will get more difficult, as the risk of getting hit from tiny bits of metal that fly with an insane speed will get higher and higher when leaving orbit.

This debris is dangerous to our astronauts and satellites already, so maybe instead of thinking of year XY when we can't travel anymore, think of a rising chart. The more shit we shoot in space, no matter for what purpose, the quicker the line on the chart will grow and the more risky it will get.

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M4err0w t1_jc1cjwz wrote

i'm sure we'll eventually create meta materials that can just take it

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