Falling space debris is increasingly threatening airplanes, researchers say [Video]

Space debris from rocket bodies orbiting Earth is posing an increased threat to aircraft while falling from space, according to new research.

While the probability of space junk striking an airplane is low, the risk is rising due to increases in both the aviation industry and the space flight industry, according to a paper published in Scientific Reports.

Space junk originates from everything that is launched by human access to outer space — including satellites and equipment for exploration, Aaron Boley, an associate professor of physics and astronomy at the University of British Columbia and co-director of the Outer Space Institute, told ABC News. Rockets are used to insert satellites into orbit, and a lot of material gets left behind.

“Now that we have such growth in our use of outer space, a lot of the problems associated with that are coming to bear,” said Boley, one of the authors of the …