The International Space Station (ISS) photographed by Expedition 56 crew members from a Soyuz spacecraft after undocking, October 4, 2018. (NASA/Roscosmos/Handout via REUTERS) By Lisa Ruth Rand Lisa Ruth Rand is assistant professor of history at Caltech. Her first book, an environmental history of waste in outer space, will be published by Harvard University Press. Today at 9:51 a.m. EST By Lisa Ruth Rand Lisa Ruth Rand is assistant professor of history at Caltech. Her first book, an environmental history of waste in outer space, will be published by Harvard University Press. Today at 9:51 a.m. EST
It was a great week for American infrastructure on the ground. It was a terrible one for the global infrastructure surrounding our planet. On Monday, President Biden signed a bill aimed at updating America’s aging bridges, roadways and drinking-water systems, among other projects. The very same day, the Russian military shot a projectile into space , smashing one of its own derelict satellites into a plume of debris and sending astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station scrambling into emergency shelter.
Upon impact, the Kosmos 1408 satellite broke into hundreds of pieces, each traveling upward of five miles per second and quickly spreading to altitudes between 125 and 500 miles above the Earth. At such high speeds, even tiny objects can pack a punch: Per an analogy offered by NASA , a marble-size piece of debris can strike with a force comparable to a bowling ball traveling at 300 mph. This new debris joins functioning satellites in low Earth orbit, whose numbers have rapidly risen in recent years thanks in large part to the private space industry.