Elon Musk's Rocket Debris Causes Airline to Suffer Losses
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Elon Musk's Rocket Debris Causes Airline to Suffer Losses

SpaceX calmly launches into space not only shuttles with a returning first stage, but also conventional rockets, the boosters of which burn up in the atmosphere. However, as it turns out, not completely.


The remains of spacecraft fall in the southern part of the Indian Ocean. It is believed that this place is very remote and the debris will not be able to bother anyone. It turns out, they can. The air route from Johannesburg, South Africa, to Sydney and back passes through this zone. The transportation is carried out by the Australian company Qantas. This week, it had to suddenly cancel several flights due to a late notification from SpaceX, which reported that parts of the spent stage could fall along the route.

Elon Musk's Rocket Debris Causes Airline to Suffer LossesAnother SpaceX launch. Photo: Youtube.com

Ben Holland, head of Qantas' operations centre, said SpaceX often fails to provide timely warning of "rocket falls", so flights have to be postponed almost at the last minute. It is possible that debris could end up on the route aircraft another airline, South African Airways, and other carriers using the Indian Ocean area chosen by SpaceX. So Elon Musk's much-hyped campaign for a "free" system with a huge number of satellites has a downside that is unsafe for airliners.
What do you think about rocket debris falling on airplane routes?
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