#space1

What is GPS? GPS, also known as Global Positioning System, is a satellite-based system that provides location data, created by and for the United States Air Force. GPS uses a series of satellites orbiting the Earth, monitored and controlled by ground stations to determine your location on Earth. This works because the satellites broadcast radio signals (US Air Force, 2010). Unfortunately, GPS and satellites come at an enormous cost. 

From an economic viewpoint, building and launching satellites don’t come without a cost. Between 2000 and 2016, 41.3% of satellites launched by NASA either failed or partially failed. Between 2009 and 2016, 42.6% of satellites failed or partially failed (Jacklin, 2019). 

Satellite production doesn’t come without a cost either for the environment. When surface or underground mining for materials needed for satellites, sulfide-containing minerals are released into the water. This oxidizes with the air and forms sulfuric acid, which negatively impacts the groundwater. Leftover chemical deposits from the explosives used are also toxic, which increases the salinity of mine water. Toxinx mays also spill into water supplies during mineral extraction. Lastly, mining releases 142 million tonnes of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere each year, which totals up to 13% of global emissions (Greenstreet, n.d). Mining for satellite materials contributes to this statistic. 

Like phones, rare earth elements are crucial in order to produce satellites. Mercury and cyanide are used to extract these elements from the land. Imagine if mercury got into bloodstreams and spilled in water bodies- a high possibility that probably already happened. 

Past production, satellites need fuel to power rockets to send them to space. Space junk is another issue. Satellite debris floating out in our ionosphere could damage other satellites or even the ISS!

In space, satellites have less of an impact. They run on solar power because of the constant supply from the Sun (Greenstreet, n.d). Well, until they become space junk. There’s not much we can do about space technologies that have become a critical part of our life, only to recognize that they come at an enormous cost. 

To end off the story I started with, I ended up walking in the opposite direction and missed the transfer bus :)