By: Brady Cheng

A Russian satellite broke apart in space on Wednesday, and astronauts on the ISS took protective measures.

The satellite, Resurs P1, was floating 220 miles above the ground and broke into more than 100 pieces. The U.S Space Command said that there were no immediate threats, and they would continue to observe and assess it.

Resurs P1 was launched in 2013 by Russia to observe the Earth and take pictures. It would help with agriculture, meteorology, transportation, and other purposes. Resurs P1 retired in 2022 when it stopped working, and it has been slowly falling toward Earth since.

When the satellite broke, its pieces increase the total number of space junk and debris, including dead satellites, tool bags, and many more random objects floating near Earth. NASA estimates that there are 25,000 pieces of space junk that are larger than 4 inches, and including the smaller objects, around 100 million pieces in total.

“It’s very murky right now,” said Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. “We don’t have a clear understanding yet,” he added, saying there were “a wide range of possibilities.”

There is a reason for all this space junk, and it is that astronauts send broken satellites, tool bags, and other material into space. What is concerning though, is that it is possible Russia intentionally broke the Resurs P1. They have a history of firing missiles at their own non-functioning satellites, and China and India have conducted similar tests. The United States decided to try to ban these tests in 2022.

The worst effect of Resurs P1 explosion that could happen is a domino effect. The pieces of the satellite could collide with another satellite and break it, and it would explode and send more space junk flying everywhere.

Humans should do something about this, or else we could have space junk everywhere.