Space Junk Danger To Sunken Ocean Treasure.

Space Junk: danger of floating debris

Reported by: Emily Clark

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) – The sky might not be falling, but a lot of space junk is. This traffic jam in outer space could interfere with parts of your daily life.

16,000 pieces of space junk are out there, moving at 17,000 miles an hour.

Seth Jarvis at Clark Planetarium put it into perspective, he said “A grain of rice at this speed is the equivalent of a guy my size crashing into you on a motorcycle

That’s a grain of rice, imagine something bigger.

Jarvis said, “It's like setting off a bomb if it hits something.”

There are all sizes of space junk out there; made by nature and man. While this might seem like just a mess, it’s a real problem. It’s not as much a worry of junk falling to the earth, although that has happened, but the real problem is collisions.

Jarvis said, “What if that satellite smacks into a stray bolt?”

If there is a collision with a satellite for your cell phone, internet, TV – we would have serious issues.

read more at ABC4.com

Modern treasure hunters claim they've found billions in sunken ship off Boston

By Molly Line

Published February 08, 2012

| FoxNews.com

Modern-day treasure hunters say they've found a sunken ship off the coast of Cape Cod, Mass., holding one of the biggest fortunes ever discovered in the ocean depths.

"There's 71 tons of platinum, there's some gold ingots and there's also some uncut diamonds, industrial diamonds, that were on the Port Nicholson," said Capt. Gary Esper. He's one member of the team hoping to bring the goods to the surface. "I like to call us explorers rather than treasure hunters because treasure hunters have a bad name these days so we just went out there looking for the ship," said Esper.

It was no easy task for Sub Sea Research, co-owned by Greg Brooks, based out of Portland, Maine.

"It was extremely difficult. We spend almost three months looking for it," said Brooks.

"A few days before I almost pulled the plug."

The discovery was made in 2008, but the crew kept quiet while resources and initial legal rights were secured.

The S.S. Port Nicholson was torpedoed by a German U-boat in 1942 during World War II. According to Esper, research shows the vessel drifted before finally sinking, plunging 700 feet into the depths of Georges Bank, a popular fishing channel littered with shipwrecks and known for strong currents and turbulent weather.

The British merchant vessel's cargo, a payment of precious metals from Russia to the United States, is estimated to be worth $3 billion, but bringing the find to the surface won't be easy.

"Difficult. Very difficult. The pressure is immense down there. It is diveable, but it's a very scary dive," said Esper.

Instead, the team will use a remotely operated vehicle, a submersible robot with a claw, to grab its find and bring it up into the light.

The search has already cost millions of dollars. Wealthy investors are hoping for a big payday, but there is no guarantee.

Maritime law is complicated. Britain has yet to decide whether or not to file a claim on the cargo, waiting for the salvage operation to begin, and with so much money at stake legal experts expect a battle likely involving multiple parties.

Read more: FoxNews