A Sky Full of …Junk!

Photo: European Space Agency/SPL

Do you know the proverb "better be safe than sorry"? So, let’s say that this mantra didn’t quite guide space activities. The Earth literally floats in a sea of space trash! 

But what is space debris? Why is it a problem and what are the concerns and efforts put in place by the international community to help the situation?

Definition 

The Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space defined Space debris as all man-made objects, including their fragments and parts, whether their owners can be identified or not, in Earth orbit or re-entering the dense layers of the atmosphere that are non-functional with no reasonable expectation of their being able to assume or resume their intended functions or any other functions for which they are or can be authorized.

Space debris is therefore, essentially, objects that have lost all usefulness, no longer perform any function, in a word, they are garbage.

Why is it a problem?

The constant growth and development of space activities has led to an exponential increase in space pollution.

To understand the scale of the phenomenon we take into account the numerical data provided by European Space Agency updated on 20 September 2021:

• Number of debris objects regularly tracked by Space Surveillance Networks and maintained in their catalogue: About 29410

• Estimated number of break-ups, explosions, collisions, or anomalous events resulting in fragmentation: More than 570

• Total mass of all space objects in Earth orbit: More than 9500 tonnes

• Number of debris objects estimated by statistical models to be in orbit; 36500 objects greater than 10 cm; 1000000 objects from greater than 1 cm to 10 cm; 330 million objects from greater than 1 mm to 1 cm.

The major risks associated with this contamination of the outer space environment concern satellites. And it’s intuitive to understand the possible inconveniences resulting from their damage, because of the dependency that our way of life, here on Earth, has developed in relation to activities related to the use of satellite capabilities. In addition, in the near future, they could also compromise space exploration, as well as problems related to the possible fall of these debris on the Earth’s surface.

Concerns and efforts of the International Community

Contrary to what the current state of things may suggest, the international community has shown early concern about the problem, with the first efforts to deal with the space pollution issue dating back to 1958, when the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU) has established the Committee on Contamination by Extraterrestrial Exploration (CETEX) (moreover, it was disbanded in 1959). 

Nevertheless, we can find only one norm specifically dedicated to this problem in Space Law, the Article IX of the Outer Space Treaty 1966, and however, it is rather general: “...parties to the Treaty shall pursue studies of outer space including the Moon and other celestial bodies, and conduct exploration of them so as to avoid their harmful contamination and also adverse changes in the environment of the Earth resulting from the introduction of extraterrestrial matter and, where necessary, shall adopt appropriate measures for this purpose...”

Among the reasons which have made it difficult to draw up a systematic programme for the removal of debris, are certainly the enormous costs involved in carrying out effective operations, but also the legal complexities related to interference with space objects belonging to different States.

The international community continued to develop reflections on the problem, focusing on how to conduct space activities that would allow to stem the problem, in particular through ‘soft law’ instruments, including the UN Long Term Sustainability Guidelines For Outer Space Activities; Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space; IADC Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines; European Code of Conduct for Space Debris Mitigation, to name a few.

In conclusion, we can say that the attention on this issue is high and the joint efforts, at the legislative and technological level, are aimed at finding a solution.

Golden Times for Space Cleaning Companies!