LogFAQs > #913057079

i saw this the other night and the alarmism irritated me

while the cascading destruction theory is a legitimate concern, the idea that we're already on it is not

typical spaceflights do not deposit the majority of their debris in LEO anymore, nor have they for a long time. most lower stages are dropped within the atmosphere, typically only penultimate stages drop in LEO and with spaceX, not even those.

LEO isn't the only orbit we use, just the most common, and a lot of what he's presenting about momentum transfer is ignoring reference frames. a 30,000kph object striking another object that is also moving close to 30,000 kph in a similar direction is not going to obliterate it.
---

And when the hourglass has run out, eternity asks you about only one thing: whether you have lived in despair or not.