(Gray News) – The risk of space debris falling through airspace is going up in 2026, according to researchers.
Experts said spacecraft, or parts of one, fall back into the Earth’s atmosphere once a week on average.
Most of this space debris is empty rocket stages, while others are dead satellites whose low orbits decayed enough for them to slip into the atmosphere.
Most of these “human-made meteors” don’t survive long due to the heat and shredding force that come as the objects speed through the air. However, some bits of debris from these objects can survive long enough to fall through the sky, which can be a big problem not just for those on Earth but people and things in space as well.
Experts are concerned by the amount of space debris which may plummet back to Earth in 2026.(MGN | MGN Image (Credit))
The safety concern continues to increase into 2026 as researchers at the University of British Columbia predicted in a study published early 2025 that there will be a 26% chance space debris will fall through some of the world’s busiest airspace as they plummet back to Earth.
Another study published in 2020 suggested that those chances will continue to increase, resulting in the chances of a commercial flight being hit by a piece of falling space debris being around one in 1,000.
Although the risk of being hit by space debris is increasing, the researchers said the average traveler should not worry too much for their own safety, as there are much greater risks in the day-to-day life of the average person than being hit by space debris.
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