CSET’s Kathleen Curlee shared her expert analysis in an article published by TIME. The article discusses the growing hazards posed by space debris, highlighting a recent incident in which China’s Shenzhou-20 spacecraft was struck by orbital debris, delaying the return of its crew from the Tiangong Space Station.
There are tens of millions of smaller, untraceable pieces that can still wreak havoc. It is not just sheer luck that we have not seen more collisions: operators in space routinely maneuver to avoid colliding with debris. But this is the first time a Chinese return mission has been delayed by debris.CSET Research Analyst, Kathleen Curlee
On the risks posed by orbital debris, Curlee noted, “There are tens of millions of smaller, untraceable pieces that can still wreak havoc. It is not just sheer luck that we have not seen more collisions: operators in space routinely maneuver to avoid colliding with debris. But this is the first time a Chinese return mission has been delayed by debris.”
The article also references a data snapshot by Lauren Kahn and Kathleen Curlee, titled “Mapping Space Debris.” The data snapshot maps each of the over 34,000 pieces of space debris the United States government has tracked since 1958, bringing Earth’s crowded orbits to life.
To read the full article, visit TIME.