File:Falling to Earth takes a long time ESA23161096.jpg
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DescriptionFalling to Earth takes a long time ESA23161096.jpg |
English: Our planet's atmosphere reduces the energy of satellites in orbit (on Earth, this would be like reducing their speed, but in space, it's complex!). This then brings them back down to Earth. This process can be relatively fast for satellites flying at low altitudes, taking less than 25 years, but for satellites launched into orbits tens of thousands of kilometres away, it can be thousands of years before they return, if the atmosphere is able to impact them at all. Had the dinosaurs launched a satellite into the furthest geostationary orbit, it would still be up there today. This means that as we launch satellites to space we must consider how they will be removed at the end of their lives, or else the skies will be filled with old, defunct spacecraft at risk of collision, explosion, and the near-certain creation of vast amounts of space debris. In this infographic from ESA and UNOOSA, find out how long it would take satellites at different altitudes to naturally fall back to Earth, and what must be done to responsibly dispose of them at the end of their lives. Find out more in Episode two of the corresponding ESA-UN podcast, "Falling to Earth takes a long time". |
Date | 17 February 2021 (upload date) |
Source | Falling to Earth takes a long time |
Author | European Space Agency |
Activity InfoField | Operations |
Keyword InfoField | Space Debris |
Set InfoField | ESA-UN infographic |
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This media was created by the European Space Agency (ESA).
Where expressly so stated, images or videos are covered by the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 IGO (CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO) licence, ESA being an Intergovernmental Organisation (IGO), as defined by the CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO licence. The user is allowed under the terms and conditions of the CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO license to Reproduce, Distribute and Publicly Perform the ESA images and videos released under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO licence and the Adaptations thereof, without further explicit permission being necessary, for as long as the user complies with the conditions and restrictions set forth in the CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO licence, these including that:
See the ESA Creative Commons copyright notice for complete information, and this article for additional details.
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This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 IGO license. Attribution: ESA / UNOOSA, CC BY-SA IGO 3.0
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current | 20:48, 28 March 2024 | 1,920 × 2,593 (1.29 MB) | OptimusPrimeBot (talk | contribs) | #Spacemedia - Upload of https://www.esa.int/var/esa/storage/images/esa_multimedia/images/2021/02/falling_to_earth_takes_a_long_time/23161085-11-eng-GB/Falling_to_Earth_takes_a_long_time.jpg via Commons:Spacemedia |
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