Space debris after Russian missile test: 'Totally irresponsible'
Russia recently blew up a defect satellite. As a result, the amount of space debris in Earth orbit has increased.
Thousands of pieces of space debris released by the action can cause serious damage if they collide with other satellites or manned space stations, with relative speeds comparable to a bullet. Lecturer Tanja Masson-Zwaan gave her reaction to the incident in Dutch newspaper NRC. ‘Totally irresponsible. Everyone knows that this will cause problems for years to come’.
Collisions in space can cause problems for society. 'We have become so dependent on space travel’ says Masson-Zwaan. Satellite navigation systems such as GPS play an indispensable role in logistics, agriculture, weather forecasting, dyke monitoring, but also in money transactions and defence. ‘All that is at stake.’