Space Debris

2018

Space debris consists of millions of pieces of man-made material orbiting the Earth at speeds of up to several km s -1 . Although, the majority of these fragments result from the space activities of only three countries, viz. China, Russia, and the United States, yet pose a continuous threat to all assets in Earth’s orbit. Debris poses a growing threat to satellites and can prevent the use of valuable orbits in the future. Many pieces of debris are too small to monitor but too large to shield satellites against. Based on increase in space debris, certain measures have been taken to address this global issue. In particular, internationally adopted debris mitigation guidelines are reducing the introduction of new fragments into Earth’s orbit. However, there is a growing consensus within the space debris community that mitigation is insufficient to constrain the orbiting debris population. Also, ensuring a safe future for space activities will require the development and deployment of ...

2020

International Journal of Management, Technology And Engineering, 2018

With very first launch of artificial satellite in earth's orbit on 4 th October 1957, each successive space exploration program has added debris in earth's orbit. Although the earlier space agencies understood about the need to avoid addition of debris in earth's orbit and started making guidelines regarding it but the amount of debris still rose as the earth's orbit was started to be used for commercial and research purposes. This paper gives a short study on some of the sources of space debris and some of their mitigation measures and removal methods as mentioned by some international space agencies also giving a brief stat on number of debris present in the earth's orbit as of January 2017.

International Journal of Disaster Risk Management, 2024

The rapid accumulation of space debris has emerged as a critical threat to global satellite infrastructure, jeopardizing essential services such as communications, navigation and real-time weather forecasting, which are fundamental to effective disaster management. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the multifaceted challenges posed by space debris, focusing on collision risks, Kessler Syndrome and the inherent vulnerabilities of satellite networks. It highlights significant gaps in existing international regulatory frameworks, underscoring the urgent need for stronger global coordination. While technological interventions such as Active Debris Removal (ADR) and enhanced Space Situational Awareness (SSA) show promise, they fall short when applied alone. A sustainable solution requires an integrated approach that combines innovative technologies such as on-orbit manufacturing and self-destruction systems with policy reforms that enforce stricter debris management protocols and encourage compliance with economic measures such as debris removal credits and orbital parking fees. China, European Union, the United States and some other countries have already begun the work needed to coordinate space activities, but the breadth of these efforts and rules varies from country to country, and the lack of ownership or control of space is a problem. Given the important role of satellites in disaster response, the protection of space assets is essential to sustaining global resilience. Ensuring long-term sustainability will depend on international cooperation, binding agreements and a collective commitment to preserve the orbital environment for future generations.

2017

In recent years, the launch traffic to low Earth orbits (LEO) has undergone a significant change: while in the beginning of this century the launch rates dropped to their lowest level since the beginning of the space age, the yearly number of launches performed has now recovered to 20th century levels. Although absolute launch numbers are now comparable to historic levels, fundamental space activity has changed dramatically: instead of launching few, complex, large and expensive spacecraft, as done typically by governments, the trend is now towards the deployment of space systems that are much smaller, less complex and of lower cost. A major factor in this change of philosophy has been the shift from institutional operators towards those from private industries. Current market analyses furthermore assume that these recent changes in launch traffic are only the beginning of a continuing change in the use of LEO. When considering this shift towards increasing numbers of smaller satell...

Since the launch of the Sputnik 1 in 1957, around 8,000 man-made space objects have been launched in space. While these space objects have given us satellites and space probes which have revolutionized the way we perceive modern life and outer space, the byproduct of this process has been the creation of excessive space debris. The problem created by the uncurbed and unintentional production of space debris has been escalating in the past couple of decades and the lack of binding legislation regarding this issue is alarming news for future generations who may not be able to utilise the outer space resources that international space agencies are misusing so casually. This paper attempts to analyse the existing legislation governing space debris and the consequences of the lack of pre-emptive and corrective measures to prevent a crisis caused by space debris.

The effects, on the low earth orbit environment, of different mitigation measures discussed at international level are illustrated with simulations spanning more than 200 years in the future. The analysis took into account a detailed traffic model, explosions, collisions and the effects of air drag. The simulations carried out confirm the importance of spacecraft and rocket bodies passivation to avoid in-orbit explosions, but the de-orbiting of upper stages is needed as well to curb the debris and collision rate increase and to avert the onset of an exponential growth of artificial objects in the near earth space. The additional removal of end-of-life spacecraft does not improve the outcome dramatically, but seems to be the only additional measure able to reduce the collision rates in low earth orbit, reversing the historical trend of the last four decades.

2017

After more than fifty five years of space activities, the sky above the Earth being highly polluted with orbital debris, has become the cause of serious concern for safe placement of satellites in the desired orbits as well as in their safe functioning. Orbital or Space debris are the fragmented parts of nonfunctional satellites and used rockets orbiting the Earth at speeds of up to several kilometers per second. Satellites are placed in different orbits for performing different functions, majority of which are at Low Earth Orbit (LEO) up to altitude of 2000 kilometers, some are in Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) up to altitude of 36000 kilometers and few are also in High Earth Orbit (HEO). More than 7000 man-made objects launched in various orbits around the Earth since the dawn of space age, about 2/3 rd of these are in LEO. It is estimated that there are now roughly 5 lakh pieces of orbital debris available of which nearly 3.7 lakhs debris present in LEO are of the size between 1...