Hello everyone and welcome to ZDTech, ZDNet’s daily editorial podcast. I am Pierre and today I am going to explain to you why the mess which reigns in the immediate orbit of our planet today turns into a headache for the world space agencies.
We are not alone in the Universe. If we do not yet have official proof of extraterrestrial life, the periphery of our blue planet is nevertheless very, very, very populated. But don’t expect little green men, no, no, no, in this case I’m talking more about space junk, that is to say non-functioning spacecraft, abandoned rocket stages and other debris of all kinds, mainly of human origin, which clutters the space. According to NASA, there would be no less than 23,000 pieces of debris larger than a tennis ball orbiting the Earth, all at speeds that can exceed 28,000 km/h.
However, with the increase in the number of satellites in low orbit, this space waste now constitutes a real threat, whether for guaranteeing access to space and the International Space Station, but also for all actors in the ecosystem. space, including SpaceX, Amazon or even more traditional defense and aerospace players, such as Airbus, Thales, Lockheed Martin or Boeing. The danger is so great that NASA today considers the reprocessing of this space waste as, I quote, “one of the great challenges of our time”.
A cluttered space!
The American or European authorities are therefore multiplying initiatives to make this space waste a thing of the past. Across the Atlantic, Washington has just struck a blow by introducing a rule aimed at forcing satellite operators to withdraw their satellites within five years of the end of their mission. “For it to continue to grow, we need to do more to clean up after ourselves so that space innovation can continue to respond,” said the FCC, the US telecoms policeman, to justify this unprecedented decision in the space adventure story.
Unpublished why, you ask me? Well, quite simply because until now there were no strict rules concerning space waste and its reprocessing, other than directives fixing the lifespan of a space object at 25 years after the end of his mission. A very vague rule never applied until now. Now the question is whether this new decision will finally make the void that surrounds us well, emptier than it is today.
Nothing is less certain, because another problem, in this case military anti-satellite tests, is now added to the problem of debris. In 2007, China recalled using a missile to destroy an ancient weather satellite as part of an anti-satellite test, creating more than 3,500 large pieces of debris in our immediate orbit. In November 2021, it was Russia’s turn to make the news by carrying out a “direct ascent” anti-satellite test, generating at least 1,500 traceable orbital debris.