ESA warns: Wild West manners in orbit – space debris threatens the future!

ESA warns: Wild West manners in orbit – space debris threatens the future!

According to Walther Pelzer, head of the German Space Agency, the situation in Earth orbit is becoming increasingly worrying. He describes the prevailing conditions as “Wild West manners”, caused by a lack of regulation in the area of ​​space travel and space debris. The European Space Agency (ESA) is working intensively to develop a set of rules that will be implemented nationally to counteract this trend. “ kleinezeitung.at " reports more than 10,000 man-made objects over one meter in diameter and about 40,000 objects larger than ten centimeters. The problem of space debris affects not only the safety of active satellites, but also the astronauts of the International Space Station (ISS), which has already had to take cover 35 times.

What is particularly alarming is that an estimated 1.5 million particles over a centimeter and around 130 million particles larger than a millimeter are floating uncontrollably in orbit. These microparticles have already caused damage to Earth observation satellites. In order to stop this threatening development, Holger Krag, Head of Space Safety at ESA, emphasizes the necessary investments in technologies to clean up space debris.

Zero Debris Charter to reduce space debris

A step forward in this effort is the introduction of the “Zero Debris Charter” in 2024. This charter, which was also signed by Austria, requires that space objects be removed five years after completing their mission. This happens with a success probability of at least 99 percent. The Charter, based on the concept of a zero debris approach, was encouraged by ESA Member States at the 2022 Ministerial Conference. It aims to put Europe at the forefront of space sustainability and ensure the competitiveness of the European space industry. According to ESA, this approach is the result of over a decade of joint work and is expected to achieve debris-neutral space travel goals by 2030. Over 140 companies and organizations and 17 countries have already committed to the charter, driving a global consensus on space sustainability.” esa.int “.

Global cooperation against space debris

The issue of space debris is a global concern. Rolf Densing, ESA Director of Mission Operations, highlights that all users of satellite-based services are affected by the dangers of space debris. In fact, it is estimated that there are nearly 130 million pieces of junk in space, of which approximately 900,000 are classified as hazardous. These dangerous objects can not only damage satellites, but also interfere with navigation, communications and weather monitoring. ESA is working closely with the United Nations to create a better understanding of the issue and support the implementation of existing guidelines.” esa.int “.

The situation could worsen further as the number of missile launches, which has increased sharply in recent years, could also increase the number of evasive maneuvers. However, radar and detection systems can only detect parts with a diameter of around ten centimeters, which creates a dangerous “gray area”. A significant portion of the space community sees an urgent need for action to address these challenges and secure the space environment for future generations.