, updated
Between the endless delays and violent turbulence, flying can already be a nerve-wracking experience.
But scientists have now found one more thing to worry about while hopping on an airplane.
Researchers from the University of British Columbia have calculated the chance that someone will be killed by a falling rocket striking their plane this year.
They calculate that the odds of a passenger being killed by space debris in any given year are 1 in 2,200.
This is likely to be a conservative estimate as it only considers the risk of falling rocket bodies, ignoring the dangers posed by satellites, and assumes the debris doesn’t break into smaller pieces.
Previous studies suggest that the chance of space debris killing one or more people within the next decade is as high as one in ten.
Additionally, although the risk of hitting an aircraft is relatively low, rocket junk has a very …