A pair of fast-moving satellites appear to have avoided a collision in orbit Wednesday night. A crash could have caused them to break up into tens of thousands of pieces of tiny space debris.
LeoLabs, which tracks orbiting debris and satellites, says the two objects are a decommissioned space telescope that launched in 1983 and an experimental U.S. payload launched in 1967.
Before the two passed by each other over Pittsburgh Wednesday night, LeoLabs predicted a 1-in-100 chance they would hit each other. Given certain factors, that could have dropped to 1-in-20. The satellites were traveling at an altitude of 559 miles and a relative speed of 9 miles per second.
About 5 hours after the expected time of the event, LeoLabs said it appeared the two had missed.
It's not clear if a collision would have posed a threat to the International Space Station or any other orbiting objects.
Roger Thompson, a senior engineering specialist at The Aerospace Corporation, tells Business Insider that a collision could produce about 290,000 chunks of debris that are at least 1 centimeter wide. That debris could spread out of control into more orbits, potentially damaging other objects and making space a dangerous place to navigate for future space missions.
LeoLabs says it's a reminder that there are a lot of non-functioning or abandoned objects floating around up there that need to be cleared out.
"Events like this highlight the need for responsible, timely deorbiting of satellites for space sustainability moving forward," LeoLabs said.
There are currently more than 2,000 operational satellites in orbit around the Earth, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists.
