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It already happened with Kosmos 954 and will probably happen again soon: ~20 other satellites had been sent in space with the same tech. Kosmos crashed away fro

It already happened with Kosmos 954 and will probably happen again soon: ~20 other satellites had been sent in space with the same tech. Kosmos crashed away from (human) life centers but that was a huge stroke of luck. Research area was 100k+ km2. Launches are less to be feared because they are oriented toward sea and the most critical moment are the first minutes. The device discussed is intended to travel away from earth so as you noted it won’t be dangerous after it quit orbit. Disclaimer: not skilled in any related field, just a consumer of space science popularization videos for newbies.

flagrant_taco 3y ago
It's crazy to me that people largely consider it safe as long as the unspent fuel or nuclear debris is dumped into the ocean. (Not a direct comment on your opinion specifically, just building of the general idea)
- adastra22 3y ago
  Because it largely is? It ends up on the sea bed, covered in sediment, then eventually recycled into the Earth’s mantle some millions of years from now. It doesn’t enter the biosphere.
  - aziaziazi 3y ago
    Oceans, marine fauna and marine flora are part of the biosphere.
    - adastra22 3y ago
      None of those exist in the regions where these satellites and rocket stages crash. These are natural dead patches.
      - aziaziazi 3y ago
        Any evidence/reference to back this up? Oceans are the cradle of life and are still populated by fishes, mammals, zoo and phytoplancton even away from coastlines. http://comlmaps.org/gallery/footprints/ http://comlmaps.org/gallery/footprints/
        adastra22 3y ago
        Not these areas. https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/programmes/datelinepacific/audio/201852219/massive-south-pacific-ocean-garbage-patch-a-dead-place https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/programmes/datelinepacif... Abyssal zones of the ocean are only populated by creatures that feed on hydrothermal vents, or dead creatures falling down from the surface. But the mid pacific has no hydrothermal vents and the surface is a dead zone due to human activity. So there is no source of food for life to exist here, and outside of the occasional whale fall it is truly dead.
        aziaziazi 3y ago
        Terrifying, didn’t know there’s a second patch on the south. The census map in my parent post show this area populated by “predators” but not much zooplankton, so not sure what lives there. There’s also probably a bunch of debris from nuclear tests in this region.
wkat4242 3y ago
Not soon. Most of these other rorsat reactors have been put in a parking/disposal orbit where they'll last a long time (I forgot how long bit I think it was in the order of thousands of years) I'm kinda surprised the soviets even thought of the environment in that way.

flagrant_taco 3y ago

It's crazy to me that people largely consider it safe as long as the unspent fuel or nuclear debris is dumped into the ocean. (Not a direct comment on your opinion specifically, just building of the general idea)

adastra22 3y ago
Because it largely is? It ends up on the sea bed, covered in sediment, then eventually recycled into the Earth’s mantle some millions of years from now. It doesn’t enter the biosphere.
- aziaziazi 3y ago
  Oceans, marine fauna and marine flora are part of the biosphere.
  - adastra22 3y ago
    None of those exist in the regions where these satellites and rocket stages crash. These are natural dead patches.
    - aziaziazi 3y ago
      Any evidence/reference to back this up? Oceans are the cradle of life and are still populated by fishes, mammals, zoo and phytoplancton even away from coastlines. http://comlmaps.org/gallery/footprints/ http://comlmaps.org/gallery/footprints/
      - adastra22 3y ago
        Not these areas. https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/programmes/datelinepacific/audio/201852219/massive-south-pacific-ocean-garbage-patch-a-dead-place https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/programmes/datelinepacif... Abyssal zones of the ocean are only populated by creatures that feed on hydrothermal vents, or dead creatures falling down from the surface. But the mid pacific has no hydrothermal vents and the surface is a dead zone due to human activity. So there is no source of food for life to exist here, and outside of the occasional whale fall it is truly dead.
        aziaziazi 3y ago
        Terrifying, didn’t know there’s a second patch on the south. The census map in my parent post show this area populated by “predators” but not much zooplankton, so not sure what lives there. There’s also probably a bunch of debris from nuclear tests in this region.

wkat4242 3y ago

Not soon. Most of these other rorsat reactors have been put in a parking/disposal orbit where they'll last a long time (I forgot how long bit I think it was in the order of thousands of years) I'm kinda surprised the soviets even thought of the environment in that way.