Space debris: 'Grandfather satellite' due to fall to Earth
BBC NewsFEB 2024
Uncontrolled European Satellite Plummets to Earth
Image copyright: Handout/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Spin
Narrative A
We owe life as we know it to satellites in orbit. Without satellites, we wouldn’t have real-time communications, weather monitoring for catastrophic events like hurricanes and wildfires, systems for national security, and more importantly, a means to understand climate change and its impacts.
Narrative B
There have been too many dangerous interactions with space junk caused by decommissioned or rogue equipment. But this junk isn't just a threat in the air, it could also cause a catastrophe when it lands in populated areas of Earth. There must be a global effort to reduce this human-created celestial threat.