In more than 60 years, while everyone is in awe of the astounding achievements humanity has made off the earth, we should be equally shocked of what is about to come if we do not tackle the issue of space debris or space junk that has been produced as a result of an increasing number of space exploration activities and ASAT tests. Space debris is one of the most significant problems that we are facing in the space industry. It can damage satellites, spacecrafts, astronauts and the space-based platforms that we are dependent on. From weather data, climate change information, to banking routes, agriculture support, position navigation, timing services, and the internet, our dependency on space increases every single day as we progress towards space-based platforms.
Imagine a world where the internet could not work anymore, where the ATMs stopped operating, and where there were no weather and hazard forecasts. Does this dystopian world sound scary? Now, what if I told you that the chances of all this becoming a reality are at all high. There are a large number of bits and pieces of junk flying in space, which mostly involves portions of rockets and satellites that are either dead or lost and objects that are consequences of explosions in space. Nearly half a million range from the size of a bullet or a marble all the way to the size of an actual bus.
Out of these half a million objects, only less than one percent (around 26000) of these bits and pieces of debris are trackable with the condition of tracking a piece of debris to be greater than the size of a softball. This means that more than 99 percent of the bits and pieces of debris in space are the size of a bullet (in millimetres) and hence, are untrackable.
The massive number of debris is not the only challenge.
The majority of the space debris is flying at an exceptionally fast speed, crossing each other paths at varying altitudes, and there are high possibilities of accidents to occur as there are no space traffic rules which will further result in more space debris among other serious hazards. Think of hundreds of thousands of bullets moving at very high speeds in space. Now think of the dangers involved with these small objects moving around without the laws of friction in place. You might be wondering how harmful a millimeter-sized bit or piece can be, right? Well, how harmful can a bullet be?
The United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UN COPUOS) created a Working Group in 2010 to create and set forward a set of voluntary guidelines for all actors of space to secure the long-term sustainability of Outer Space. In 2018, the Working Group settled on 21 guidelines along with a mutual agreement of member States to further discuss space sustainability. These 21 guidelines address collective solutions for space sustainability, security, and safety that all space actors need to follow. To date, the number of member states in this committee has increased to nearly 100. Different marketing mechanisms such as Space Sustainability Rating (SSR) are also working to set forward a rating system to incentivise space actors.
While the focus on cleaning existing bits and pieces of debris is of great significance, I think the focus on monitoring and quantifying the current and future space operations will be of greater significance. Let’s not treat space like we have treated the oceans. We need to increase awareness of the space traffic footprint and the serious threats that space debris possesses. We need to be more conscious about how we operate in orbit and collective action is of utmost necessity to end the tragedy of the commons.