Our use of satellites for communications, navigation and observation has tied Earth and space together as never before. It\u2019s no exaggeration to say that society as we know it could not function without the satellite networks that circle the planet.<\/p>
Something approaching half of the 195 countries in the world now own at least one satellite. As a result, what happens in space inevitably influences what happens on Earth, and vice versa. Space has become an extension of Earth\u2019s environment, a new frontier where human influence is felt.<\/p>
It\u2019s therefore essential that we understand the limits of this new environment and its resources to ensure that our current activities are sustainable, so that future generations can continue to benefit from the unique opportunities that space offers.<\/p>
A change of approach<\/h2>
\u201cI do think we\u2019re at a juncture where we need to review what we\u2019ve been doing in space and consider what\u2019s needed for the future,\u201d says Joanne Wheeler<\/a>, managing partner at the London-based law firm Alden Legal, which specialises in satellite, space and communications law.<\/p> Wheeler has a background in space law and international environmental law, and has been interested in space debris for around 25 years, having once been the European Space Agency\u2019s main lawyer covering issues related to space debris.<\/p> Read more:<\/strong><\/p> Her solution is the Earth & Space Sustainability Initiative (ESSI), a UK Space Agency-funded organisation to establish an appropriate set of principles to outline the responsible use of space, for the benefit of all.<\/p> But although the broad themes of the principles have been outlined the exact wording of them is still to be decided.<\/p> \u201cWe\u2019re taking a holistic, practical, inclusive, multi-disciplinary and anticipatory approach,\u201d says Wheeler.<\/p> In other words, ESSI will consult with the various industries, universities, governments and other organisations around the world that are interested in space to understand their ambitions, and work with them to draft the principles.<\/p> To kickstart the process, Wheeler and her team drafted a memorandum<\/a> outlining the strands that the principles will focus on. Over three weeks in June, the document was sent far and wide into the worlds of academia and industry for comment, and redrafted several times to reflect the responses.<\/p> When the finished draft was circulated, more than 120 space organisations, including most of the principal satellite operators around the world signed the document.<\/p> \u201cIt was remarkable,\u201d says Wheeler. \u201cWhat an excellent way to kick-off the wide engagement we want in drafting the ESSI Space Sustainability Principles. It shows how important the issue is to all space players today.\u201d<\/p> While the principles will cover the entire lifecycle of a satellite, from design and manufacture to its eventual demise, the prevention of space debris is a running theme.<\/p> According to the European Space Agency (ESA), as of June 2023, 15,760 satellites have been placed into orbit since the beginning of the space age in 1957. Of these, 10,550 remain in space and 8,200 remain operational.<\/p> Low Earth Orbit (LEO), which extends from the top of Earth\u2019s atmosphere to an altitude of 2,000km (almost 1,250 miles) is the most congested region. There are roughly 8,600 satellites here, not all of which are still operating.<\/p> There are 13,000 pieces of known debris in LEO too. These can be anything from parts of the rockets that put the spacecraft into orbit, to discarded camera covers. Not only do they get in the way of other satellites that we may wish to launch, they pose a collision risk to the working satellites they share space with.<\/p> Collisions in space are usually devastating because of the speeds involved. Satellites move at around 8km per second (approx 18,000mph). At those speeds, even a small screw can deliver the explosive equivalent of a hand grenade, creating clouds of debris with tens of thousands of fragments, each capable of shattering another satellite.<\/p> Unsurprisingly, the UK and others are working hard to avoid such scenarios.<\/p> \u201cWe\u2019re investing heavily in both ESA and a number of national initiatives, which range from technology development for in-orbit operations, to design studies that are the first steps towards a national mission to capture and remove two pieces of UK-registered space junk,\u201d says Ray Fielding<\/a>, the UK Space Agency\u2019s Head of Space Sustainability.<\/p> Read more:<\/strong><\/p> ESSI is just one of those initiatives. But there are others that are dedicated to \u2018active debris removal\u2019 (ADR), which involves using specially designed spacecraft to capture defunct satellites and throw them back into Earth\u2019s atmosphere, where they can burn up.<\/p> One of these ADR initiatives belongs to Astroscale, a Japanese company that now boasts a clean froom for satellite assembly in Harwell, Oxfordshire.<\/p> In March 2021, Astroscale launched ELSA-d, the End-of-Life Service by Astroscale demonstration. This mission consisted of twin spacecraft, a chaser and a target, and demonstrated the way one satellite could capture another using a magnetic arm.<\/p> For Nick Shave<\/a>, the managing director of Astroscale\u2019s UK office, solving this problem is about securing the future.<\/p> \u201cOur strong dependence on space is only going to continue. On our quest to go out into the Solar System, to the Moon first and then Mars<\/a>, we need to be managing that environment much better,\u201d he says.<\/p> ClearSpace is another company dedicated to removing space debris. Founded in Switzerland but now building a facility in London, it will launch the ClearSpace-1 mission with ESA and Arianespace in 2026. This will be the world\u2019s first actual ADR mission and will remove a piece of a previous Ariane launcher.<\/p> \u201cWinning that contract supercharged us as a company into what we are now,\u201d says Rory Holmes<\/a>, of ClearSpace. \u201cThe UK is now our biggest engineering centre outside of Switzerland.\u201d<\/p> The ClearSpace design features long robotic arms that close around a defunct satellite, holding it while it\u2019s fixed, refuelled or removed from orbit.<\/p> Both companies are now in a race to win a UK Space Agency contract to remove two more pieces of actual space debris.<\/p> The urgency to clean up space has increased with the advent of the so-called satellite mega-constellations. There are proposed fleets of thousands or even tens of thousands of satellites designed to supply high-speed internet from orbit to everywhere on the planet.<\/p> Elon Musk\u2019s SpaceX-Starlink project is the most high-profile example. As of June 2023, Starlink owns the largest number of satellites in orbit at more than 4,000.<\/p> And that number is growing all the time. Other companies, such as OneWeb, are launching their own constellations, and Amazon plans to do the same with its Project Kuiper. If everything goes according to plan, more satellites will be launched in the next 10 years than in the entire space age to date.<\/p> Clearly such a dramatic increase in the number of satellites and the associated debris is unsustainable. Not only must we remove debris from orbit, but we must also design future satellites to not produce so much in the first place. One option for doing this is to design them to be refuelled and\/or serviced, so that their working lives can be extended.<\/p> \u201cCan you imagine any other industry where you\u2019d have such an expensive infrastructure you\u2019ve invested all this time and money in, but you have no way of servicing it, no way of refuelling it? If it breaks, you leave it; when it reaches the end of its life, you abandon it. That has to change. There\u2019s so much potential value that could be unlocked if we can master servicing satellites,\u201d says Holmes.<\/p> Ultimately, of course, it\u2019s in every space company\u2019s long-term interest to make sure that the orbits around Earth are safe for their satellites to operate in. But Shave has no illusions about other, shorter-term concerns: \u201cBusiness is always based on generating revenues and, at the end of the day, profits for shareholders.\u201d<\/p> He thinks about a decision to either pay \u00a3X million to perform a clean-up mission, or use that money to buy a ground station for the company. From a short-term profitability point of view, the ground station would always win so what\u2019s going to drive that decision towards the sustainability option?<\/p> \u201cThere\u2019s goodwill,\u201d says Shave. \u201cBut I think the real thing that\u2019s going to drive this market is regulation.\u201d \u201cFour years ago, I began thinking about how best to incentivise \u2018good\u2019 behaviour and what good behaviour actually is,\u201d she says of the seed of the idea that has grown to become ESSI.<\/p> \u201cI was keen to link this to insurance and finance, and licensing requirements because I hadn\u2019t seen space sustainability issues linked in this way.\u201d<\/p> Her thinking was influenced by the fact that it\u2019s becoming increasingly common for financing and insurance on Earth to be linked to a company\u2019s commitment to sustainability, so why not in space too?<\/p> Time will tell if the approach is as successful, but negotiations have already started over how to turn ESSI\u2019s Space Sustainability Principles into internationally recognised industrial standards, so that companies can be measured against them.<\/p> In the meantime, we stand on a watershed in history: never before have we possessed the means or the motive to launch so many satellites and use them in such a wide variety of ways to benefit life on Earth. <\/p> While the cultural, scientific, engineering and economic benefits of using space are unquestionable, they must be balanced against the inevitable environmental and, subsequently, human cost.<\/p> 1: Spacecraft design and manufactur<\/strong>e<\/p> How can manufacturers ensure safer satellites that use fewer resources to build, and minimise their impact on the space above Earth?<\/p> How can satellite launches be made safer and how can rocket fuels be made greener to minimise environmental impacts?<\/p> How can space traffic be more effectively managed and controlled? Similarly, how can the limited amount of radio frequencies be used most effectively to maintain communication with the ground?<\/p> How can we safely rendezvous with existing satellites to either remove them from orbit, or refuel them so they can continue their missions?<\/p> How can satellites best be disposed of and what are the environmental impacts of space hardware re-entering Earth\u2019s atmosphere?<\/p> How can satellites be designed to minimise the possibility of them becoming, or otherwise creating, space debris during or at the end of their functional lives?<\/p> How can we minimise the visual trails across the night sky and the radio frequency interference from satellites for both cultural and scientific reasons?<\/p> How can we best monitor Earth to ensure adherence to environmental regulations, and also monitor space weather to warn against adverse effects to satellites?<\/p> How can we make the best use of planetary resources and protect neighbouring worlds from biological contamination?<\/p> Joanne Wheeler<\/strong> is a managing partner at the London-based law firm Alden Legal, which specialises in satellite, space and communications law. She previously worked for the European Space Agency specialising in work on space debris.<\/p> Ray Fielding<\/strong> is the UK Space Agency\u2019s Head of Space Sustainability. He has a background in materials engineering and has worked in the space sector for more than 30 years.<\/p> Rory Holmes<\/strong> is the managing director of ClearSpace UK.\u00a0He has more than 15 years’ experience, working in both manufacturing and operations. He holds a Master of Physics degree from Oxford University, and a PhD from the University of Heidelberg<\/p> Nick Shave<\/strong> is the managing director of Astroscale\u2019s UK. He holds a Masters in Spacecraft Technology & Satellite Communications from University College London and is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society.<\/p> Read more:<\/strong><\/p> Earth is blanketed by a swarm of human-made debris hurtling around at speeds of up to 8km per second \u2013 about five times the speed of a bullet. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":35025,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"11"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/10\/space-junk-could-soon-spark-a-chain-of-catastrophic-collisions-above-earth-heres-what-could-stop-it.jpg",1200,800,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/10\/space-junk-could-soon-spark-a-chain-of-catastrophic-collisions-above-earth-heres-what-could-stop-it-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/10\/space-junk-could-soon-spark-a-chain-of-catastrophic-collisions-above-earth-heres-what-could-stop-it-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/10\/space-junk-could-soon-spark-a-chain-of-catastrophic-collisions-above-earth-heres-what-could-stop-it-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/10\/space-junk-could-soon-spark-a-chain-of-catastrophic-collisions-above-earth-heres-what-could-stop-it-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/10\/space-junk-could-soon-spark-a-chain-of-catastrophic-collisions-above-earth-heres-what-could-stop-it.jpg",1200,800,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/10\/space-junk-could-soon-spark-a-chain-of-catastrophic-collisions-above-earth-heres-what-could-stop-it.jpg",1200,800,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Earth is blanketed by a swarm of human-made debris hurtling around at speeds of up to 8km per second \u2013 about five times the speed of a bullet.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/35024"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35025"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35024"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35024"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}A design for life<\/h2>
![\"An](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/41\/2023\/10\/Illustration-of-the-ELSA-d-spacecraft-3.jpg\")
![\"A](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/41\/2023\/10\/Illustration-of-a-spacecraft-capturing-a-piece-of-space-junk.jpg\")
More satellites, more problems<\/h2>
Short-term v long-term concerns<\/h2>
The ESSI’s Principles for sustainability <\/strong><\/h2>
2: Launch and propulsion<\/strong><\/h3>
3: Supporting operations in space and spectrum sustainability<\/strong><\/h3>
4: Rendezvous and proximity operations<\/strong><\/h3>
5: Supporting \u2018end of life\u2019 and disposal<\/strong><\/h3>
6: Space debris mitigation<\/strong><\/h3>
7: Dark and quiet skies<\/strong><\/h3>
8: Earth monitoring<\/strong><\/h3>
9: Resource Management<\/strong><\/h3>
About our experts<\/h2>
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"