Rising Space Debris: Threats & Mitigation Efforts

Context: A 500-kg metal object, suspected to be space debris, crashed in Kenya, raising concerns over accountability and legal gaps in space governance.

What is Space Debris?

• Space debris refers to man-made objects in Earth's orbit that no longer serve a useful purpose.
• This includes defunct satellites, spent rocket stages, and fragments of debris from collisions or other events.
• Types of Space debris:
  • Large debris: Defunct satellites, rocket boosters, fuel tanks that survive reentry.
  • Small debris: Fragments from satellite collisions, disintegrated spacecraft.
  • Microscopic debris: Paint flakes, dust particles, and metal fragments from damaged satellites.

Potential Hazard from Space Debris

• Threat for operational satellites:
  • The floating space debris is a potential hazard for operational satellites and colliding with them can leave the satellites dysfunctional.
  • This overpopulation of space with objects and debris is referred to as Kessler Syndrome.
• Reduction of orbital slots: The accumulation of space debris in specific orbital regions can limit the availability of desirable orbital slots for future missions.
• Impacts Space situational awareness: The increasing amount of space debris makes it more challenging for satellite operators and space agencies to accurately track and predict the orbits of objects in space.
• Risks from incidents of uncontrolled re-entries on Earth: 
  • Kenya (2024): A 500 kg metal object, suspected to be a rocket separation ring, crashed in Makueni County.
  • Poland (2024): Debris from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket landed without prior warning.
  • China (2024): Long March 5B rocket core stage reentered uncontrolled, narrowly missing populated areas.
  • Australia (2022): A SpaceX Dragon capsule fragment crashed in a remote area.
• Rising Risk from Satellite Mega-Constellations:
  • Companies like SpaceX Starlink, Amazon Kuiper, and Eutelsat OneWeb plan to add over 100,000 satellites by 2030.
  • Many older satellites lack de-orbiting plans, increasing the risk of collisions and debris.
  • The UN guidelines recommend deorbiting within 25 years, but compliance is only 30%.

Legal Framework for Space Debris

• Lack of a clear definition:
  • No universally accepted legal definition of space debris exists.
  • The UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) defines space debris as non-functional man-made objects in orbit or reentering the atmosphere.
• International Space Laws and Liability:
  • Outer Space Treaty (1967): Holds states responsible for all national space activities.
  • Liability Convention (1972):
    • Introduced absolute liability (requires no proof of negligence) for damage caused by space objects on Earth. 
    • However, enforcement is weak, and compensation is often inadequate.
    • Example: Canada received only $3 million out of the $6 million clean-up cost after the Cosmos 954 satellite crash (1978).

India’s Initiatives for Space Debris Management: 

• ISRO System for Safe & Sustainable Operations Management (IS4OM) (2022): Monitors space objects that pose collision threats to Indian satellites.
• Project Netra (Network for Space Object Tracking and Analysis): Detects, tracks, and catalogs debris as small as 10 cm up to a range of 3,400 km.
• Collision Avoidance Manoeuvres: ISRO performed 21 collision avoidance manoeuvres in 2022 to prevent space debris impact.
• Space Situational Awareness Control Centre (2020): Functions as India’s central hub for monitoring and managing space traffic.
• International Collaboration: India actively engages in UN discussions on space debris mitigation and sustainability.

Challenges in Space Debris Governance: 

• Difficulty in attributing debris to its source: While tracking systems exist, older or highly fragmented debris is difficult to trace.
• No oversight once control is lost:
  • Countries like the U.S. argue that responsibility ends once a space object is no longer actively controlled.
  • E.g., The FAA stated it had no responsibility after losing contact with the Falcon 9 rocket.
• Lack of binding regulations for controlled reentries:
  • No legal requirement for countries to ensure controlled reentries.
  • E.g., China’s Long March 5B rocket has had four uncontrolled reentries since 2020.

Way Forward

• Enforceable International laws: 
  • COPUOS must push for binding regulations on controlled reentries.
  • Penalties should be imposed on non-compliant states.
• National-level policy reforms:
  • Governments should mandate debris mitigation for launch licenses.
  • Companies should be required to use controlled reentry mechanisms.
• Improved tracking systems:
  • Expansion of space surveillance systems like the U.S. Space Fence.
  • More advanced prediction models for reentries.
• Sustainable space practices:
  • Promotion of debris-neutral technologies and reusable rockets.
  • Mandatory use of graveyard orbits for defunct satellites.
• Modernising 1972 Liability Convention: Creation of an international tribunal with binding enforcement powers.