By Aazam
October 08, 2022
The Kessler effect, sometimes known as the Kessler syndrome, is a phenomena that has the potential to significantly worsen the space debris issue
NASA estimates that there are already over 27,000 pieces of space junk in orbit, and that number will keep rising
According to the space agency, space debris moves through low Earth orbit at a speed of roughly 25,266 kilometers per hour (15,700 mph)
With a spacecraft, even a small piece of orbital debris can have serious consequences
Dr. Samantha Lawler, an astronomer at the University of Regina, stated that we are "on the edge" of the risk of Kessler syndrome in an interview with IE in August
If it happened, she warned, any attempt to repair the issue would be equivalent to "gathering bullets" and would make it appear as though we were "within a snow globe within hours of sunrise or sunset
Donald Kessler, a NASA scientist, initially described the condition as the "Kessler syndrome" in a research report published in 1978
In the event of a collision, colliding satellites or spacecraft would shatter into numerous smaller fragments, raising the likelihood of a spectacular snowball effect
Kessler and Cour-Palais state in their research that a collision between satellites "would produce orbital debris