00:01Let me tell you a terrifying story.
00:04You're on a flight, 35,000 feet in the air, sipping coffee, listening to music over your earphones,
00:11when suddenly, a hunk of metal the size of a baseball rips through the plane like a bullet from space.
00:17No warning, no escape, just a silent demise falling from the sky at 17,000 miles per hour.
00:25Sounds like a disaster movie? Perhaps, but it's also a very real scenario, and this should be a wake-up call.
00:33Right now, Earth is being surrounded by thousands of pieces of space junk like non-functioning satellites, rocket parts, or orbital shrapnel.
00:42Most burn up, some don't, and aviation experts warn it's only a matter of time before one of them punches a hole in a plane full of passengers.
00:52Think the sky is empty once you're above the clouds? Of course not.
00:56In fact, it's busier than ever, from both above and below.
01:01Every day, around 100,000 flights crisscross the globe.
01:05At the same time, thousands of satellites, old rocket stages, and debris fragments are zipping through space just a few hundred miles above your head.
01:15We've basically turned low Earth orbit into a junkyard, and commercial planes are flying just beneath it.
01:23It's like cruising down the highway while someone dumps metal scraps from a bridge overhead.
01:28It might miss you, until it doesn't.
01:31So what exactly is all this flying trash?
01:34It's called space junk.
01:36Basically, all the stuff we once shot into orbit that's now just floating uselessly around up there.
01:42Drifting, waiting to lose enough speed to come back to Earth.
01:46Think non-functioning satellites, spent rocket boosters, metal fragments from past missions, and the occasional wrench or bolt lost during a spacewalk.
01:56Right now, researchers say there are over 2,300 rocket bodies still circling our planet.
02:03And that's just the big stuff.
02:05In total, we're tracking tens of thousands of objects larger than 4 inches, and possibly millions of tiny pieces too small to see, but large enough to cause serious damage.
02:17Here's the scary bit.
02:19This junk zips around Earth at the speed of 17,000 miles per hour.
02:24That's fast enough to turn even a paint chip into a flying projectile.
02:29A piece the size of a coin could pierce a spacecraft or an airplane like paper.
02:35Most junk burns up in a fiery goodbye, but sometimes, a stubborn chunk survives the fall.
02:42So far, no commercial airplane has been struck by falling space debris.
02:46Lucky us.
02:47Or lucky you.
02:49I don't fly that often, but luck doesn't last forever.
02:53There have already been plenty of close calls.
02:56Large chunks of junk have survived re-entry and crash-landed on Earth, sometimes near homes, farms, or even highways.
03:05In one case, a pressurized metal fuel tank from a rocket landed in Texas.
03:10In another, a long metal panel dropped into a remote field in Australia.
03:16In 2022, the situation became super serious for a few hours.
03:21Spain and France temporarily shut down parts of their airspace due to an uncontrolled re-entry of a Chinese rocket.
03:29Over 600 flights were delayed because no one could be certain where that chunk of metal might fall.
03:35That was the first time in history that air travel was interrupted because of space debris.
03:40And if current trends continue, it probably won't be the last.
03:45Now, picture that over the U.S. on a holiday weekend.
03:49Jam-packed airports.
03:50Thousands of flights.
03:51And suddenly, sorry folks, we might have some heat-resistant screws coming from space.
03:58Flights will be resumed soon.
04:00The problem is that re-entries can't always be predicted with pinpoint accuracy.
04:05Agencies often get just a few hours' notice, and the impact zone could stretch across hundreds of miles.
04:12So, aviation officials face a tough choice.
04:15Close huge chunks of airspace, or roll the dice with thousands of passengers in the sky.
04:21According to recent research, some of the world's busiest airspaces already face a 26% annual chance of being affected by an uncontrolled re-entry.
04:31That's more than one in four.
04:34And not because anyone's being reckless.
04:36It's just because the numbers are exploding.
04:40Over the past decade, the number of objects in low Earth orbit has doubled.
04:45And here's the real danger.
04:47The more crowded space becomes, the higher the chance that debris collides with more debris.
04:53Creating the even more debris.
04:56It's called Kessler Syndrome.
04:58A kind of orbital domino effect where one collision triggers another, and another, until entire orbits become unusable.
05:07And with companies like SpaceX and national space agencies launching more and more stuff into space, we could be setting the stage for exactly that.
05:15Meanwhile, back on Earth, we're flying more than ever.
05:19Commercial air traffic has more than doubled since 2000.
05:22That means more people in the air, more planes in flight paths, and more chances for a tragic overlap between something falling and something flying.
05:33And when that moment comes, there may be no warning.
05:36And if that moment ever comes, we probably wouldn't even see it.
05:40I mean, before it hits the news.
05:42Even with all our fancy satellites, spotting a tiny metal thing dropping out of orbit is nearly impossible.
05:49But again, most debris doesn't make it to the ground.
05:52As these objects plummet through Earth's atmosphere, the intense heat from reentry usually causes them to burn up completely.
05:59That's especially true for smaller or lightweight pieces like aluminum fragments or insulation.
06:05Also, even when stuff does survive reentry, a mid-air collision with a plane is extremely rare.
06:11Planes cruise at 35,000 feet, while falling space junk comes screaming down from hundreds of miles up, whizzing past that height in seconds.
06:20The chances of a plane being in the exact spot at the exact time are incredibly slim.
06:25It's like tossing a dart from space and trying to hit a mosquito flying across a football field, while blindfolded.
06:32The timing, the alignment, the odds? Practically zero.
06:36But with more darts and more mosquitoes?
06:39That's why experts are still worried.
06:42The amount of space junk is growing fast.
06:45More stuff falling means more chances for something to go wrong.
06:48And while the odds of a direct strike remain low, the risk of aerospace disruption is very real.
06:56So, can't we just clean it up?
06:59You'd think that with all our high-tech satellites, space stations, and reusable rockets, someone would have invented a cosmic vacuum cleaner by now.
07:07But space cleanup is way more complicated than it sounds.
07:11For one, the junk is moving fast.
07:14Snagging this stuff is like trying to catch bullets, while being strapped to a rocket yourself.
07:20There's also the size problem.
07:22Some pieces are too small to track, and others are too big to ignore.
07:26Plus, no one can agree whose job it is to clean up the mess.
07:30If a country launches a satellite that later breaks apart and becomes debris, is it their job to retrieve it?
07:36So far, no one really knows.
07:39Okay, when said like that, it sounds impossible even to me.
07:43But I have faith in scientists.
07:46However, it's not all bad news.
07:49The European Space Agency is pushing for a zero-debris policy for future missions.
07:54They want every satellite and rocket launched to have a built-in plan for getting out of orbit safely.
08:00Meanwhile, scientists are working on robotic grippers, basically giant space claws that could one day grab junk and fling it into a controlled burn in Earth's atmosphere.
08:10This goes to show that the problem is understood, and while difficult, the cleanup is not impossible, if we address it in time.
08:18The sooner we start taking it seriously, the better the odds that your next flight stays boring and uneventful.
08:25You know, the way flights are supposed to be.
08:28Unless you sit by the window, then it's breathtaking and awe-inspiring.
08:32So the next time you're staring out your airplane window at 35,000 feet, relax.
08:38You're more likely to spill your coffee than get hit by space jump, or upgraded to first class by accident.
08:44Scientists, engineers, and even robot claws are already on the case.
08:49Space might be messy now, but we've cleaned up bigger messes before.
08:53And with the right moves, we can keep the skies safe for everyone.
08:57And who knows, maybe in a few decades, you'll be booking a window seat for a flight out into space.
09:03Just make sure it comes with asteroid or junk insurance.
09:10That's it for today.
09:11So hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your friends.
09:16Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side.
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