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I really wonder about space junk if we start down this road, would the debris stay in orbit spinning round the earth or would it be pulled into the atmosphere?

• wongarsu 4y ago
  It would come down, most of it very quickly, the rest eventually. The satellites are low enough to deorbit from drag alone within five years or so if their thrusters fail. Blowing them up increases surface area, which increases drag, bringing most of it down much faster. The way orbit mechanics works, if you impart energy on an object at just one point in its orbit, the orbit will change overall but still go through that point. Some debris will be put in an elliptical orbit where it will start crossing higher altitudes, but will also still cross the original altitude, causing it to be affected by drag and eventually deorbit. The worry is what it would damage until it comes down. At some debris density you start setting off a chain reaction (and arguably we are already there, it's just very slow right now)
  • ChatGTP 4y ago
    Could the blast itself be quite strong and blow debris further outwards into space ?
    • modeless 4y ago
      As the parent comment explained, unless the debris reaches escape velocity (in which case it is no longer a problem) it will periodically return to the altitude of the explosion or (more likely) lower, just due to how orbital mechanics works.
      • ChatGTP 4y ago
        Sorry, missed that, thanks.