Two Large Pieces of Space Junk at ‘High Risk’ to Collide Thursday Night Off the Coast of Antarctica

Chance of collision is higher than 10 PERCENT

1/ This event continues to be very high risk and will likely stay this way through the time of closest approach. Our system generates new conjunction reports 6-8x per day on this event with new observation data each time. pic.twitter.com/d3tRbcV2P0

— LeoLabs, Inc. (@LeoLabs_Space) October 14, 2020

(SPACE.COM) – Earth orbit could get a lot more crowded, and a lot more dangerous, on Thursday night (Oct. 15).

Two big pieces of space junk are zooming toward a close approach that will occur Thursday at 8:56 p.m. EDT (0056 GMT on Oct. 16), according to California-based trucking company LeoLabs.

The encounter will take place 616 miles (991 kilometers) above the South Atlantic Ocean, just off the coast of Antarctica.

LeoLabs’ latest calculations peg the probability of a collision at more than 10% — a scarily high number, considering that the combined mass of the objects is about 6,170 lbs. (2,800 kilograms) and they’ll be barreling toward each other at a relative velocity of 32,900 mph (52,950 km/h).

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