Particle.news
Download on the App Store
9 ARTICLES
·
last wk.

Earthquake Sensors Track Falling Space Junk by Listening for Sonic Booms, Study Finds

A peer-reviewed Science study reconstructs a 2024 spacecraft breakup using seismic shock waves to enable faster fallout mapping.

An illustration showing the trajectory of a piece of space debris as it falls through the atmosphere over the western U.S. Color-coded contour lines denote the strength of associated shock waves from the supersonic flight of the debris.
A Long March-2F rocket, carrying the Shenzhou-15 spacecraft, on November 21, 2022.
Space junk falling out of orbit can be a threat -- now scientists say they have found a new way to track it as it speeds through the atmosphere.
Debris from a SpaceX rocket launched in Texas is spotted over Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, on January 16, 2025.

Overview

  • Researchers used data from more than 120 southern California seismometers to detect the Shenzhou-15 orbital module’s sonic booms and infer its speed, altitude, trajectory and fragmentation.
  • The seismically derived path lay tens of kilometers from U.S. Space Command’s radar-based prediction, highlighting how reentry paths can diverge once objects begin to break apart.
  • Authors say the method can complement radar and optical tracking by rapidly narrowing debris fall zones and contamination risks, though it is unlikely to provide advance warning.
  • Effectiveness depends on dense seismic coverage and strong shock waves coupling into the ground within roughly 100 kilometers, and the Shenzhou-15 track cannot be fully validated because no debris was recovered.
  • The team has applied the approach to dozens of other reentries, including failed SpaceX Starship tests, and aims to automate detection and publish catalogs for integration into monitoring pipelines.