Space Debris Risk to Passengers

This is a news story, published by MailOnline, that relates primarily to the University of British Columbia news.

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space debris

MailOnline

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Science

Study reveals how likely it is someone will be KILLED by a rocket

Summary

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83% Informative

Researchers from the University of British Columbia 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 debris, 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 .

A piece of one gram could damage an aircraft if it hit a window or engine.

A piece as large as 300 g could cause a 'catastrophic incident' and the total destruction of the aircraft.

Smaller pieces of debris are also likely to take longer to fall to the ground, with some lingering for hours .

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Informative language

Neutral language

Article tone

informal

Language

English

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