Earthquake-Sensing Network Utilized to Track Space Debris Over U.S. Cities
A network of earthquake sensors has been repurposed to track space debris as it re-enters Earth's atmosphere, providing valuable real-time data on its trajectory. This innovative method was applied to monitor the descent of China's Shenzhou-15 module, which disintegrated over U.S. cities such as Santa Barbara, California, and Las Vegas, Nevada. The seismic network, consisting of 125 stations across Nevada and Southern California, detected the sonic booms produced by the debris traveling at supersonic speeds. Researchers from Johns Hopkins University and Imperial College London used this data to map the debris path and estimate where fragments might have landed. This approach offers a more accurate and immediate tracking method compared to traditional radar-based techniques, which can be off by thousands of kilometers. 
