Fragments of spent rockets and other debris orbiting the Earth pose ‘special political danger of damage to satellites being misconstrued as attackThe regular rise in space junk that is floating around the planet could provoke a political row and even armed conflict,according to scientists, who warn that even tiny pieces of debris hold enough energy to damage or slay military satellites.
Researchers said fragments of spent rockets and other hurtling hardware posed a “special political danger” because of the difficulty in confirming that an operational satellite had been struck by flying debris and had not fallen victim to an intentional attack by another nation.
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Source: theguardian.com