"If it is a human-made #SpaceObject which was launched into space 🌌 by another country, which caused damage 💥 on #Earth, that country would be absolutely liable to the homeowner 🏡 for the damage caused." https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/04/trash-from-the-international-space-station-may-have-hit-a-house-in-florida/

#SpaceDebris

A month later, #NASA released a public statement taking responsibility. “The hardware was expected to fully burn up during entry through Earth’s atmosphere” https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-04-16/nasa-says-space-junk-that-crashed-into-florida-home-was-from-iss

#SpaceDebris #ISS

#NASA incorrectly believed the batteries would completely burn up. There have been some close calls : a piece of the doomed #SpaceShuttle #Columbia crashing into a Texas dentist's office in 📆 2003, large wreckage from a Chinese 🇨🇳 #LongMarch 5B rocket damaging a village in the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire 🇨🇮, a spate of trunk debris from #SpaceX #CrewDragon missions that have landed in the United States 🇺🇸, Australia 🇦🇺, and elsewhere. https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/06/family-whose-roof-was-damaged-by-space-debris-files-claims-against-nasa/

#SpaceDebris

Ariane 5 upper stages are located mainly in #GTO & just a small delta-v (1,6km/s) is left to reach the #Moon 🌙. Since the debris 🗑️ is picked up in orbit, small propulsion units are sufficient for the remaining transport to the moon. More than 150 tons of #aluminum can be regained ♻️ from #Ariane5 upper stages alone. This saves more than €50 billions 💰 of tax money in transportation costs compared to #SLS or #Ariane6 launchers. https://activities.esa.int/4000132842

#ESA #SpaceDebris #Recycling

A collection of academics from #universities around the world 🌏 propose turning the potential catastrophe into a resource. By 📆 2050, #GatewayEarth – a fully operational #SpaceStation with a facility to recycle ♻️ old #satellites 🛰️ and other junk – could be up and running. https://theconversation.com/space-junk-a-recycling-station-could-be-cleaning-up-in-earth-orbit-by-2050-119787

#SpaceDebris #Recycling

Objects in #LEO
📆 2013 : 3,890
📆 2023 : 10,225
https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/space-objects-by-orbit

#SpaceDebris

Around 100 nations are involved in varying levels of #space activity. Since the 1950s, almost 20,000 #satellites 🛰️ have been launched into Earth’s orbit. These satellites bring immense benefits to #society, from monitoring ecosystems and supporting global #communications, to facilitating services such as satellite #television and contactless bank card payments. However,...https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/news/a-sustainable-development-goal-for-space

#SpaceDebris #SpaceRegulation #UnitedNations #UNOOSA

The management of common pool resources depends crucially on the existence and effectiveness of the #rules and institutions to govern their use.
For #space activities, this translates into human activities potentially littering Earth’s orbits beyond sustainable limits, creating #SpaceDebris that could reduce the value of space activities by increasing the risk of damaging collisions 💥 and requiring mitigation actions. https://www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/publications/reports/2020/04/space-sustainability_a2d8e17f/a339de43-en.pdf

#OECD #SpaceRegulation #sustainability

There are no binding #international rules governing the management and prevention of the growth of debris in space 🌌. Space-faring countries have established #guidelines, but they are not sufficient to guarantee a #sustainable space environment. https://www.internationalinsurance.org/insights_cyber_the_space_debris_dilemma

#SpaceDebris #insurance #SpaceRegulation

There is a general consensus that more ambitious actions are urgently needed from all space stakeholders to minimise the unintentional release of debris; to avoid the #intentional release of debris; to anticipate and mitigate the impact of debris on human populations, infrastructure, and Earth’s #environment https://esamultimedia.esa.int/docs/spacesafety/Zero_Debris_Technical_Booklet.pdf

#ESA #SpaceDebris

#BlueOrigin rocket’s nose cone washed up on the shore of a #Bahamian island. In #Europe, flaming debris from a #SpaceX launch vehicle streaked across the #German sky, and what appears to be a fuel tank may have landed on a company’s property in #Poland.

And that’s just this week. https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/21/science/blue-origin-spacex-debris-bahamas-europe/index.html

#SpaceDebris

Cutting staff from the #SpaceTraffic program, which currently alerts #satellite 🛰️ operators of potential collisions 💥 with debris or other spacecraft, complicates a years-long effort to migrate those alerting ⚠️ duties out of the Pentagon. A #collision notice is an alert that a satellite could collide with another object in space.
"We are not talking a few dozen per year. We are talking tens of thousands" https://www.reuters.com/technology/space/trump-layoffs-hit-key-air-traffic-control-space-unit-2025-03-01

#SpaceDebris #Trump #DOGE #layoffs

Active #satellites 🛰️ must perform an increasing 📈 number of #collision avoidance manoeuvres to dodge out of the way of other satellites and fragments of #SpaceDebris. Another factor is the high level of solar ☀️ activity which can often cause increased atmospheric drag. If we extrapolate current trends into the future, catastrophic collision 💥 numbers could rise 📈 significantly https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Space_Debris/ESA_Space_Environment_Report_2024

#monitoring #automation #KesslerSyndrome #CollisionAvoidance #SpaceWeather #ESA

📆 2019 #ESA is "working to #automate the process of collision avoidance" https://www.cnet.com/science/esa-spacex-starlink-satellite-nearly-collides-with-european-aeolus-satellite

15/01/2025 "Improve #SpaceTraffic surveillance and coordination" still on the #ToDo list https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Technological_to-do_list_to_reach_Zero_Debris_created ... "This will ⏳ require compatibility of different #automated systems" https://esamultimedia.esa.int/docs/spacesafety/Zero_Debris_Technical_Booklet.pdf 🥱

#automation #CollisionAvoidance #SpaceDebris