Earth orbit could get a lot more crowded, and a lot more dangerous, on Thursday night (Oct. 15).
Two big pieces of space junk are zooming toward a close approach that will occur Thursday at 8:56 p.m.
LeoLabs' latest calculations peg the probability of a collision at more than 10% — a scarily high number, considering that the combined mass of the objects is about 6,170 lbs.
Space junk explained: The orbital debris threat (infographic).
A "search-mode scan" scheduled for shortly after the close approach should reveal if a collision did in fact occur, LeoLabs said in another tweet.
Such events, and Thursday night's potential collision, highlight the growing threat that orbital debris poses to spaceflight and exploration.
Such guidelines could include a requirement that spent rocket bodies be deorbited shortly after launch, so they can't be involved in close encounters like the one that will occur Thursday night over the South Atlantic.
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