An old Russian rocket suddenly exploded in space

An old russian rocket exploded, leaving new pieces of space debris in space. Although the current situation may make us think about it, nothing has been prepared. It’s just about accidental engine explosion which was used fifteen years ago to put a payload into orbit navigation satellites.

This is not the first such rocket to explode long after launch, so it was not a surprise. However, it is important to keep an eye on the shards you fire as they can become a direct or indirect threat.

And this is so if the rocket itself was already space debris, has now left new space debris in space. It is important to keep these fragments under control in order to prevent, as far as possible, the occurrence Kessler effect. This is Domino effect what happens if pieces of space debris collide with man-made objects such as satellites, creating even more space debris, and so on. If this happens then telecommunications on earth. Even the International Space Station itself could suffer the consequences. He’s had occasional encounters with space debris before, so the Kessler effect might confuse him.

Recent Russian missile

This recent explosion took place in engine pops unfilled, also known as empty rocket. It happened on April 15, although it came out this week, on May 3. As for the rocket, it is known that it was launched in 2007 to put the complex into orbit. GLONASS satelliteswhich are the Russian analogue of the American GPS and the European Galileo.

These types of rockets play a fundamental role as they gradually accelerate the spacecraft so that displaced fuel due to microgravity return to your seat and perform the necessary function.

The problem is that these motors they do not fully consume their own fuel when they are released. Therefore, once they finish their part of the job, they can explode even within a few years. In fact, the rocket that has just become the new space junk is not the first of its kind to explode. In accordance with He explained this on his Twitter account. astrophysicist Jonathan McDowellat least others are known 54 cases.

Each of them has released new pieces of space debris that are being tracked. There are currently 173 pendingamong them 16 who just left that last rocket. However, that’s not all, as those in higher orbits are more difficult to follow. Many are known to re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere, but this could take several years, so it’s important to get as many under control as possible.

Fight against space debris

Space debris is becoming an increasingly serious problem. At the moment there is nothing else to do but to keep an eye on it, as is done with fragments of a rocket that had just exploded. However, other options should be explored.

Some companies such as SpaceX Elon Musk, they try to use reusable rockets. Eliminates issues such as underfilled engines. But it is not clear to what extent this compensates for the large number of satellites that this company launches into space, which, sooner or later, may also become space debris.

The more haze in the sky, the more likely it is that scary Kessler effect. Although this has long been put forward as a mere hypothesis, as space debris increases, the risk becomes more and more tangible. Nothing can be done against all those missiles that have run aground, against satellites or the wreckage of useless ships. But you can argue, before sending more pieces into space, how much they are needed and what consequences they can have in the long run. Seeing what you see is more than necessary reflection.