![]() ![]() It's important to take action against space junk now, many experts say, because low Earth orbit (LEO) is only going to get more and more crowded in the future. ![]() ![]() Get it out of orbit while it still has fuel and is controllable." The same is true for a satellite that has reached its planned end of life. "So, a rocket that is used to launch a satellite should be removed once it has delivered its payload to orbit. "Specifically, people - both in and out of the space community - should acknowledge that we should not leave things in orbit once their mission is complete," he said. It is one thing to recognize that pollution of the near-Earth space environment is bad, Kelso said, but it is quite another to accept that we should change our behavior. "While it seems a somewhat ambiguous goal, we can't really effect change without getting people to change their fundamental view of what should be done. "We need to change people's attitudes about the space environment," Kelso told. However, he added, "it quite simply isn't enough." Kelso, chief scientist and chief technical officer at CelesTrak, working from Wailuku, Maui, Hawai'i. The FCC adopting a five-year rule to get things out of orbit would be "a step in the right direction," said T.S. (Image credit: ESA/ID&Sense/ONiRiXEL, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO) Come clean on the situation Most have been caused by explosions of satellites and rocket upper stages, rather than collisions between objects. Related: Space junk clean up: 7 wild ways to destroy orbital debrisīreakups in Earth orbit have been recorded since 1961. The FCC will need NASA's debris models to predict the outcome of any proposed changes." "Shortening the '25-year Rule' to five years would be a significant improvement, given the large number of operators of constellations in low Earth orbit who said they could easily meet a five-year rule. "The FCC could become the regulatory agency that ensures NASA guidelines are followed," Kessler told. Indeed, the Kessler Syndrome - a feared cascade of space debris collisions that would generate ever more orbital clutter - is named after him. "The changes being made seem to be in the right direction," said Don Kessler, a now-retired NASA senior scientist who has done pioneering orbital debris research. The FCC recently voted favorably to dispose of low-Earth orbit satellites within five years, not within 25 years as previously recommended to satellite operators. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) action to shape new rules to reduce the risks caused by orbital debris, by shrinking the time that defunct satellites stay aloft. ![]() The bipartisan bill seeks to "establish a demonstration program for the active remediation of orbital debris" and "require the development of uniform orbital debris standard practices in order to support a safe and sustainable orbital environment." That's a lofty ambition, yes, but it's one that's addressed by the Orbital Sustainability Act of 2022 (ORBITS Act), which was introduced in the U.S. However we're able to do it, "taking out the trash" in orbit would guide us toward space sustainability - the ability of all spacefaring nations to continue to use outer space for the benefit of all. Lofty ambitionįor many years, multiple ideas have been put forth to clean up the space environment, including fishing-like nets, harpoons, laser blasts, de-orbiting tethers, solar sails and grappling by spacecraft outfitted with robotic arms. Space Agency, said in a statement last month. "With nearly 5,000 operational satellites and over 30,000 pieces of trackable debris, the ability to operate safely in space is growing increasingly challenging," Paul Bate, chief executive of the U.K. In short, it's a heavenly mess - with long-term consequences. ![]()
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