The Importance of Satellites to Life on Earth
Centre for International Governance InnovationFeb 22
Uncontrolled European Satellite Plummets to Earth
The Facts
On Wednesday, the defunct European Remote Sensing 2 Satellite plummeted into Earth’s atmosphere where it disintegrated over the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and Alaska. No injuries or damage were reported from the reentry.
ERS-2 met its demise after 30 years in space. The European Space Agency (ESA) reported that while most of the debris incinerated in the atmosphere, some pieces landed in the Pacific Ocean. Photos of the descent, occurring between Jan. 14 and Feb. 3, were released Monday.
The Spin
Narrative A
We owe life as we know it to satellites in orbit. Without satellites, we wouldn’t have real-time communications, weather monitoring for catastrophic events like hurricanes and wildfires, systems for national security, and more importantly, a means to understand climate change and its impacts.
Narrative B
There have been too many dangerous interactions with space junk caused by decommissioned or rogue equipment. But this junk isn't just a threat in the air, it could also cause a catastrophe when it lands in populated areas of Earth. There must be a global effort to reduce this human-created celestial threat.
Nerd narrative
There's a 20% chance that the SpinLaunch will lift a satellite to low Earth orbit by Jan. 1, 2032, according to the Metaculus prediction community.