Falling Space Junk Threatens Flights [Video]

Falling space junk produced by rocket launches poses a risk to the aviation industry—with a roughly one-in-four annual chance that a piece of debris will pass through busy airspace.

This is the conclusion of researchers from the University of British Columbia, Canada, who explain that rocket debris can disrupt flights and create additional costs for airlines and travelers alike.

In their study, the researchers used data on rocket junk re-entries and flights on the busiest day in 2023 to calculate the risk to airspaces with various air traffic densities.

Regions with 10 percent or more of the peak traffic density (seen over Denver, Colorado) had a 26 percent annual chance of seeing a rocket debris re-entry.

The team have also estimated the annual odds of a direct—and likely devastating—impact between a falling piece of space junk and an aircraft: a mercifully small 1-in-430,000.

Both these odds are figures that are only …