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What if every satellite suddenly disappeared? - Moriba Jah

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8,374 Questions Answered

TEDEd Animation

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What would happen if one day all of humanity’s artificial satellites suddenly disappeared? Within hours, most of the planet’s traffic would grind to a halt, the world economy would shut down, and most countries would declare a state of emergency. Even in the best-case scenario, our civilization would be set back by decades. So, what are the odds of this actually happening? Moriba Jah investigates.

Additional Resources for you to Explore

We are interested in making space safer, more secure, and sustainable long-term. This can include doing such things as helping space operators avoid collisions in space, monitoring behaviors and activities in space, and developing a body of evidence to hold entities accountable. Quantifying the carrying capacity of orbital space and managing this capacity under a global governance are also important aspects of this objective. Our work can greatly aid this by measurably making space more transparent and predictable.

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TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator Moriba Jah
  • Director Darvideo Animation Studio
  • Narrator Addison Anderson
  • Storyboard Artist Helen Pashynskih
  • Animator Igor Kostin
  • Sound Designer GSVP Sound Design
  • Director of Production Gerta Xhelo
  • Editorial Director Alex Rosenthal
  • Producer Bethany Cutmore-Scott
  • Script Editor Alex Gendler
  • Fact-Checker Eden Girma

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