Earth’s space junk may be wreaking havoc on the stratosphere.
The rapid surge in satellite megaconstellations is connecting much of the world to broadband internet. But each year, hundreds of those satellites die, burning up in the atmosphere as they fall. And each year, more and more satellites are being launched to replace them.
The dying satellites, it turns out, don’t just wink out into the ether. Each one leaves a bit of itself behind.
The satellites’ fiery death throes, along with a steep rise in the number of rocket launches, are adding a glut of ozone-destroying and climate-altering pollutants to the stratosphere, researchers say. What that means for the planet’s atmospheric chemistry — including its ultraviolet light–shielding ozone layer — isn’t yet clear. But scientists are racing to find out.
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