The odds of getting hit by a piece of space junk are smaller than the odds of winning the lottery, but they are not zero. You can reduce your odds of winning the lottery slightly by not buying a ticket, while space junk could hit anyone. We've learned that most debris that falls out of orbit burns up on re-entry, and most of the rest falls into the ocean. That still leaves a few unfortunate people who have to deal with the fallout, so to speak. Just last month, a piece of a pallet of batteries crashed through the roof of a Florida home. The falling debris was foreseen, but no one knew where it would end up.
It wasn't the first time that space junk fell on unsuspecting people and their property- it's been happening since 1969. Of course now there is a lot more junk up there. Read up on five cases of damage caused by stuff falling from space at Cracked.
(Image credit: NASA)
Commenting on Neatorama will earn you NeatoPoints!