The dangers of falling debris
Humans have been lauching things into space ever since Sputnik’s launch on 4 October 1957. As a result there are an estimated 500,000 pieces of space debris that are larger than the size of a marble, and over 20,000 pieces are larger than a cricket ball, orbiting the Earth at around 17,500 miles (28,164 kilometres) per hour. While these pose threats to satellites and space stations while in orbit, some can fall back towards Earth with the potential to cause accidents.
In January 1997, a woman in Tulsa, Oklahoma was unexpectedly struck on the head by a piece of debris later identified as part of a Delta II booster. Luckily it was a small, lightweight piece, so she was startled, but unharmed.
In the 1960s,…