Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Earth orbit is a heavenly mess and getting messier. Decades of human-made detritus already encircles our planet in the form of clutter – be it discarded rocket stages, aging or lifeless satellites, and other sorts of garbage.

Orbital debris persists and the problem is growing exponentially as space becomes ever more crowded. For instance, there’s the number of Internet-providing satellites being espoused by various private groups; the eventual interaction of those reentering satellites with our biosphere is projected to be sizeable.

Image credit: NOAA

New Investigation

Also in upshot phase is attention to the repercussion of rocket launches and space debris reentries on Earth’s delicate atmosphere, coupled to possible impacts on global climate and stratospheric ozone.

Now an investigative team led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has detected in the stratosphere more than 20 elements that mirror those used in spacecraft-building alloys.

Go to my new Scientific American story co-authored with Lee Billings – “Space Junk Is Polluting Earth’s Stratosphere with Vaporized Metal – Defunct satellites and other pieces of orbital debris are pumping metals into Earth’s fragile upper atmosphere, with effects unknown” – at:

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/space-junk-is-polluting-earths-stratosphere-with-vaporized-metal/