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> To explain how such a disaster would affect life on earth’s surface, Moriba Jah, Associate Professor at the University of Texas at Austin’s School of Aerospac
by mlyle 2y ago
> To explain how such a disaster would affect life on earth’s surface, Moriba Jah, Associate Professor at the University of Texas at Austin’s School of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, provided a chilling narrative in a Ted Talk (edited here for brevity) ... The most immediate sign to the public would be the sudden failure of broadcast TV. Not long after, travelers and operators would notice that their GPS no longer worked. ...
Kessler syndrome in LEO wouldn't cause any of this. GPS is up at MEO; satellites that are used for communication and TV are mostly up in GEO.
- pclmulqdq 2y agoYeah, it would be much more gradual than this but could happen if LEO were clogged enough to prevent launches. However, many missions (eg camera satellites) are moving toward LEO rather than GEO/MEO.
- mlyle 2y agoNah; even if LEO is hazardous "on average" and will out a new spacecraft there within few weeks, you can still safely (enough) pass through.
- varenc 2y agoCould runaway Kessler syndrome in LEO would launch enough debris that some would reach MEO? Though out there the density of debris might not be high enough to pose much risk. The article glossing over this made me a bit dubious of the whole thing.
- readthenotes1 2y agoThe Ted Talk hysteria of "screeching to a halt", as if all the satellites would disassemble in unison was where I stopped... (Though I like the idea of them all going fractal during the transition to daylight savings time in a country they are immediately overhead to maximize screeching)
- M95D 2y agoYes, I belive it can, but that is not the only problem. A large quantity of metallic particles may block GPS signals which are already very weak.