MIT aerospace engineers have found that greenhouse gas emissions are changing the environment of near-Earth space in ways that, over time, will reduce the number of satellites that can sustainably operate there. In a study appearing today in Nature Sustainability, the researchers report that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases can cause the upper atmosphere to shrink. An atmospheric layer of special interest is the thermosphere, where the International Space Station and most satellites orbit today. When the thermosphere contracts, the decreasing density reduces atmospheric drag ' a force that pulls old satellites and other debris down to altitudes where they will encounter air molecules and burn up. The team carried out simulations of how carbon emissions affect the upper atmosphere and orbital dynamics, in order to estimate the 'satellite carrying capacity' of low Earth orbit. These simulations predict that by the year 2100, the carrying capacity of the most popular regions...
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