Why do space debris end up in our oceans? Kuya Kim explains

You might have seen the news about fishermen from Morong, Bataan finding space debris floating in the ocean.

The big question now is: Where did it come from?

According to Kuya Kim's report on "24 Oras" on Tuesday night, space debris or space junk are parts of a space system that have been discarded because they are no longer usable, like defunct satellites or parts of a rocket system.

After being launched into space, the debris will remain floating there until it re-enters the Earth’s atmosphere.

Most of the debris that enters the atmosphere gets burned before falling to the ground.

The space debris found by the fishermen in Morong, however, were found to be unburned.

According to the Philippine Space Agency’s initial investigation, it is possible that it was part of the Long March 7 rocket that was launched in Wenchang, Hainan, China last month.

“Ito ay likely launch debris based doon sa itsura niya,"  said Dr. Paul Leonard Atchong Hilario, Space Science and Technology Applications Researcher II. "'Yung launch debris sila ‘yung mga debris na hinuhulog kapag mayroon kang space launch vehicle na lumilipad para gumaan sya at maging fuel efficient, as it flies towards orbital height.”

The space debris found is now with the Philippine Coast Guard.

But did you know that there's a portion of our oceans that's considered a "cemetery" for space debris?

Kuya Kim said that bigger debris like space stations and low orbit spacecrafts are intentionally dumped in the Pacific Ocean. The space cemetery is called South Pacific Oceanic Uninhabited Area, located close to Point Nemo.

This spot is so remote from any sort of human civilizaton, making it the perfect ground for dumping spacecraft that have reached the end of their usefulness.

The more you know! —Carby Basina/JCB, GMA Integrated News