Falling satellite will give clues to how objects burn up on re-entry
A chance to observe the high-speed re-entry of a falling satellite will give researchers important insights on how debris burns up in our atmosphere ⌘ Read more

@New_scientist@feeds.twtxt.net It’s great that US regulators have approved launching 40,000 satellites with a 5-year lifespan before we had this kind of information about what’s likely to happen when they start falling out of orbit at a rate of several per hour.

@abucci@anthony.buc.ci their main question is worrisome:

“The main question is, does it disappear during this re-entry?” says Löhle. “Is everything evaporating, or are there pieces that eventually impact on the ground?”

He expects some parts, such as the satellite’s fuel tanks, to survive. “You could learn from the re-entry that if you build a fuel tank differently, it can break up,” he says.

Archived article at: https://archive.ph/WdUvx

@quark@ferengi.one Check out this thread if you haven’t already: https://mastodon.social/@sundogplanets/112464533481477428

I think we already know It’s likely to be a disaster.

@abucci@anthony.buc.ci OMFG! Dear jebus, look at the size of that! :-/ It is just a matter of time until one of those randomly falls on any of us. Just incredible!

Wow! 😮 That’s huge!