I've wondered for a while now if there's a critical mass where one exploding satellite would create a chain reaction of space junk shrapnel that would eventually take out most satellites in orbit.
That could be. But I think that scenario is more like saying one ship at sea exploding and taking out all the other ships in the ocean. Yes objects in orbit are much faster and have more energy, but the space above us is unimaginably large and orbits of objects are sepearated by great distance unless trying to rendezvous/dock.
I've wondered for a while now if there's a critical mass where one exploding satellite would create a chain reaction of space junk shrapnel that would eventually take out most satellites in orbit.
That could be. But I think that scenario is more like saying one ship at sea exploding and taking out all the other ships in the ocean. Yes objects in orbit are much faster and have more energy, but the space above us is unimaginably large and orbits of objects are sepearated by great distance unless trying to rendezvous/dock.