It's also true that, on average, a bit of debris crashes back to Earth about once a week.
It's mostly larger satellites that have survived the fiery reentry process and, truth be told, they more often than not land in the ocean (ugh) or in some remote area. There is a whole team of researchers dedicated to tracking space debris and monitoring its risk of colliding with Earth – as far as we know, no one has died by being struck by a bit of old satellite!
@spacepictureloversspecial
