ESA report shows unsustainable levels of orbital debris
An ESA report warns of unsustainable orbital debris levels in LEO due to satellite increase. Efforts like the Zero Debris Charter and debris removal missions aim to address the issue for safer space travel.
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An ESA report highlights the unsustainable levels of orbital debris in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) due to the increasing number of satellites and debris. The report warns that without effective debris mitigation strategies, the future of space travel could be at risk. In 2023, a record number of satellites were launched, contributing to the congestion in LEO, particularly in the 500-600 km orbital band. ESA estimates that there are thousands of tracked debris pieces larger than 10 cm, posing risks to operational satellites. Efforts to mitigate debris, such as the Zero Debris Charter aiming for debris-neutral status by 2030, have shown progress. ESA emphasizes the need for stricter guidelines to prevent LEO from becoming impassable. Initiatives like the debris removal mission by ClearSpace SA and the increasing number of controlled rocket body reentries demonstrate steps towards addressing the issue. ESA's proactive approach includes setting debris mitigation rules for partners and investing in debris removal missions to tackle the growing orbital debris challenge.
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14 commentsThe answer is exactly what governments and industry have been doing for at least two decades now. Tracking of in-orbit objects, coordinated conjunction response, and rules that require either manual or drag-induced reentry cleanup at the end of a mission. Active maneuverable satellites in orbit (like Starlink) aren't a fundamental problem. The number of objects has gone up significantly, but the big actors are coordinating and following good practices.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kessler_syndrome
We definitely do need a way to clean things up, it is a shared resource. Unfortunately that means it suffers from tragedy of the commons.
Maybe if starship achieves it's goals of rapid re-usability, then active debris removal could be affordable.
In the mean time it would make sense for some kind of international agreement that requires all launches plan for de-orbiting of their debris.
Not a suggestion we call a halt on sat launches for 50 years. I'm asking if the remediation of time would work.
A rule they just violated on the return-to-flight of Ariane 6.
I also hate the cover photo. That's not the actual size of the debris.
I am guessing it is way more massive than anything we can put into orbit.
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