As the proximity between satellites and orbiting debris becomes more common, the US government is signaling that it’s time to take the threats of space debris seriously.
Why it matters: There are thousands of space junk orbiting the Earth at more than 17,000 miles per hour, threatening operational satellites and even people in orbit.
- “I think big chunks of space becoming unusable could very well happen in the next few years,” Privateer Space co-founder Moriba Jah told Axios.
Driving the news: The White House released an implementation plan late last month outlining the steps the Biden administration hopes to take to track, clean up and mitigate debris in orbit, building on work started by previous administrations .
- The document – which is the culmination of months of interagency work – lays out which parts of the US government are responsible for investigating ways to clean up space debris, track it, and stop the creation of more of it.
- The plan today could lead to better characterization and tracking of debris in space – with research aimed at “improving characterization” of debris lying less than 1 centimeter in low-Earth orbit.
- The document also potentially opens up debate about how long debris — like rocket bodies — can remain in orbit. Current, internationally adopted guidelines, according to which spent satellites and rocket bodies should deorbit after 25 years, have been described as too lax in recent years.
Game Status: Experts warn that events such as the uncontrolled descent of a Chinese rocket body last month and parts of a SpaceX capsule that landed in Australia after re-entering the atmosphere, along with collisions of orbiting satellites, could become more frequent in the future.
- There is already some evidence that the Kessler effect — the self-sustaining generation of debris from uncontrolled collisions of debris — is happening in some orbits, says Astroscale US’ Luc Riesbeck.
The big picture: Cleanup of space debris isn’t just about one nation – or one company – taking responsibility and making it happen.
- Instead, experts say many nations need to come together to establish norms and rules that aggressively target litter elimination and mitigation.
- “Space debris is an international issue, but the US has an opportunity to take a leadership role,” Ezinne Uzo-Okoro, deputy director for space policy in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, told Axios.
Yes but: Unlike Europe and Japan, the US doesn’t have its own cleanup mission on the books yet, something the implementation plan doesn’t put directly in the pipeline.
- The regulatory framework for actually removing debris from orbit — especially when it wasn’t created by the particular country cleaning it up — is also complicated.
- If one country cleans up the garbage created by another country, it could set a precedent for one nation to jam another nation’s satellites in orbit. Clearing space debris could also be a matter of national pride.
- “For countries that aren’t doing much in their space sector or are otherwise struggling in their space sector, it could look bad if they can’t even afford to remove their debris from orbit,” said Victoria Samson of Secure World Foundation says.
Something to see: Congress must now allocate funds to make many of the proposals contained in the White House plan a reality.
- “I’m glad to see that lead organizations are identified alongside each part of this implementation plan, then it’s up to Congress to do its job and provide funding in a responsible and meaningful way so that these lead organizations can actually do these things – and then stick to them.” these organizations are accountable,” says Jah.