Debris from partially burned-up spacecraft components and satellites reentering Earth\u2019s atmosphere can pose a risk to people and structures on the ground<\/a>. The surge in launches, driven largely by private players such as SpaceX<\/a>, is turning a once-remote risk into a growing threat.<\/p>\n Our materials research group<\/a> at the University of Wisconsin-Stout is studying the materials that allow reentry debris to survive. We look for ways to safely modify their exceptional heat-resistant qualities to make them safer for atmospheric reentry.<\/p>\n Debris landing on Earth<\/p>\n Reentry debris has fallen on<\/a> both private and public property around the world multiple times<\/a> since 2021. Some of the most notable events involve pieces from SpaceX Dragon\u2019s carbon fiber trunk, which stays attached to the crewed capsule until just hours before its reentry. These trunks are larger than a 15-passenger van and used for storage. <\/p>\n Trunk debris from the Crew 7 mission to the International Space Station has landed in North Carolina<\/a>, and fragments from the Crew 1 mission landed in New South Wales, Australia<\/a>. Similarly, debris from the Axiom 3 mission landed in Saskatchewan, Canada<\/a>.<\/p>\n A large piece of space debris from a SpaceX Dragon capsule was found by a campsite groundskeeper in North Carolina in 2025.<\/p>\n In addition to trunk debris, carbon fiber components that hold pressurized gases to adjust a spacecraft\u2019s orientation also make up a lot of recovered reentry debris. Some of these most recent recoveries have been in Australia, Argentina and Poland<\/a>.<\/p>\n Most of the debris that reenters the atmosphere burns up, so why are these pieces making it down to Earth\u2019s surface?<\/p>\n Atmospheric reentry<\/p>\n Satellites such as SpaceX\u2019s Starlink reside in low Earth orbit<\/a>, typically between 190 and 1,240 miles (300 and 2000 kilometers) above the Earth\u2019s surface. To stay there, they need to move really fast, at about 17,000 miles (27,000 km) per hour<\/a>. To reach this speed, a rocket with a million pounds of fuel had to accelerate it, and part of this energy is still contained within the satellite\u2019s momentum. <\/p>\n As an object in orbit drifts down, closer to Earth\u2019s upper atmosphere, it starts to collide with air molecules, slowing the object down<\/a>. The amount of heat generated from this interaction rapidly consumes the satellite<\/a>, melting metal at over 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit (1,600 degrees Celsius).<\/p>\n More launches<\/p>\n Countries around the world have been launching items into space since the 1950s, so why is reentry a concern now? <\/p>\n Starting in the 1960s, about 100 objects were launched into space every year<\/a> \u2013 or at least that was the case until 2016. Since then, the number has been increasing exponentially. In 2016, 200 objects launched. But in 2025, that number was 4,500, meaning<\/a> 20% of all objects launched into space<\/a> since the 1950s were launched last year. <\/p>\n Most of these launches came from companies in the United States, such as SpaceX<\/a> and Rocket Labs<\/a>. Companies like these, along with those outside of the U.S., have plans for large satellite constellations<\/a> composed of hundreds of thousands to a million satellites. <\/p>\n The more objects and payloads launched, the more reentry events occur. Satellite operators are required to remove their<\/a> decommissioned satellites from orbit after 25 years to comply with regulations set in place by international committees. Groups across the world, including the Federal Communications Commission in the U.S., have pushed to shorten the deorbit window to five years<\/a>. Because of these guidelines, the full influx of reentry debris events from these recent launches will not be felt for another 10 or more years.<\/p>\n The objects launched and policy decisions made today will have a lasting effect on future safety.<\/p>\n Carbon fiber<\/p>\n As the world has progressed technologically, efficiency for launching items into space has too. <\/p>\n Satellites and spacecraft are becoming lighter, stronger and more heat resistant because of materials such as carbon fiber-reinforced plastics<\/a> and new metals. These strong materials are sought after because they\u2019re lightweight, but they can also cause deorbiting debris to withstand reentry temperatures.<\/p>\n Carbon fiber, once used exclusively in space technology, is now found in common items such as bicycle frames and racing car bodies<\/a>. It is still the gold standard for fabricating high-strength, low-weight materials for spacecraft components<\/a> such as rocket fuselages, interstaging \u2013 the protective housing found between the rocket stages \u2013 and pressure vessels that experience extreme temperatures and high mechanical stress and strain. <\/p>\n Simple metals such as aluminum and steel melt and burn away, while complex materials such as carbon fiber, which is manufactured at up to 5,000 F (3,000 C)<\/a>, burn away unpredictably<\/a>, changing the way jettisoned components break up upon reentry. <\/p>\n Since the early 2000s, a majority of recovered space debris contains<\/a> either carbon fiber-reinforced plastic sections or metal components wrapped with carbon fiber. The carbon fiber can act as an unintentional heat shield for heavier, more harmful debris.<\/p>\n This map shows locations where confirmed space debris has been recovered. With the increase in launches, the European Space Agency predicts that future space debris could fall practically anywhere across the world. Design For demise<\/p>\n Design for demise is a major area of research focused on mitigating the risk of reentry debris. Instead of relying on controlled and meticulously timed deorbits<\/a> that send components that survive reentry into the ocean at the end of their lives, spacecraft components are engineered to ensure they completely disintegrate while deorbiting through the atmosphere. <\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/file-20260328-57-vazv0t.jpg\")
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\n European Space Agency<\/a><\/p>\n