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Terrifying simulation shows what would happen if an astronaut floated away into space

Home> Science> Space

Published 15:24 12 Feb 2024 GMT

Terrifying simulation shows what would happen if an astronaut floated away into space

It's a terrifying thought isn't it? But what would actually happen if you floated off in space?

Kerri-Ann Roper

Kerri-Ann Roper

There is absolutely no doubt that astronauts are some of the bravest professionals out there.

Still, if you had to pick just one single part of working in space that most terrifies you, many people would probably go for the risk of being cut loose and drifting away into the terrifying blackness.

In reality, spacewalks are almost always carefully tethered, but a YouTube video from channel V101 Space takes a closer look at what would happen if an astronaut floated away into space.


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As the video simulation explains, astronauts on the International Space Station are always tethered by a 26-meter cable when they do maintenance or other work outside the station.

If this tether failed for any reason, a small jetpack would let them boost back toward the station - although if this in turn failed it would be over to the other astronauts on the station to attempt retrieval.

According to V101 Space, this would be hugely challenging, however, with no spacecraft designed for the purpose and very little time to act before the astronaut was too far away.

Drifting away, it's not like you'd actually float out into open space - rather, you'd probably be trapped in the Earth's orbit, unable to do anything while your oxygen supply slowly ran out.

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This would result in eventual asphyxiation, but if your suit had any sort of puncture or failure of integrity things would be more dramatic, with the vacuum of space killing you a lot more quickly.

@V101SPACE looks at what would happen if an astronaut floated away into space.
@V101SPACE/YouTube

If your angle and velocity happened to be precisely right (or wrong) you could be on a path that took you into Earth's atmosphere, finally, which wouldn't result in a genuine collision, as the heat and power of your entry would actually disintegrate you completely long before you hit the ground.

That's right, there's basically no cheery outcome in these hypotheticals, sadly, which is why the idea of coming loose in space has been such a terrifying one in films down the years, from 2013 film Gravity starring Sandra Bullock to 2001: A Space Odyssey.

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Still, we can take some comfort from the fact that there are multiple safety systems in place to stop this.

In fact, reportedly only 19 people have ever died in space missions, out of 652 people who've been to space, and none of these has ever been from drifting away like this.


Featured Image Credit: V101 SPACE/YouTube
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