The European Space Agency (ESA) is in talks with SpaceX about the possibility of Elon Musk’s space company joining an international charter designed to reduce a growing swarm of debris in space, it said. CEO Josef Aschbacher.
The 22-nation agency is leading one of several efforts to reduce the mass of space debris circling the planet from past missions that poses a risk to active satellites.
Aschbacher said 110 countries or entities have joined ESA’s Zero Debris charter, which aims to stop any new orbital debris generated by 2030.
Asked if SpaceX, whose satellites now account for about two-thirds of active spacecraft in low-Earth orbit, had joined, Aschbacher said: “Not yet, but we are in talks with them… This is a letter that continues to evolve and… we will continue to raise the issues because they are very fundamental.”
Of the roughly 10,300 active satellites in orbit, about 6,300 are part of SpaceX’s rapidly growing Starlink constellation, according to the US Space Force.
China has begun launching constellations of its own to compete with Starlink, as has Amazon, which expects to launch more than 3,000 satellites for its Kuiper constellation this decade.
Amazon adhered to the letter, Aschbacher said.
There are currently 18,897 pieces of trackable space junk in orbit, according to Jonathan McDowell, a Harvard astronomer who tracks such objects.
Space debris and trash are often used interchangeably, but space debris is considered by some to include inactive payloads and rocket bodies, as well as debris or errant fragments of broken satellites.
There are no international laws on debris, but countries and space agencies have begun in recent years to come up with national proposals and standards to address the problem.
“We are not a regulatory body; “We are a technical space agency,” Aschbacher said. “But the fact that we have presented the letter, which was drawn up with all the other partners, and that they have signed it is very encouraging.”
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Test or collided rockets and satellites account for the majority of space debris
SpaceX is subject to the orbital debris requirements of the United States Federal Communications Commission.
A Starlink satellite must deorbit – or burn up in Earth’s atmosphere – within five years of the end of its useful life.
“I think it’s very important for the industry to publicly commit to this type of initiative, so I’m glad to hear that SpaceX is considering it,” McDowell said, referring to the letter.
In 2023, SpaceX criticized a Federal Aviation Administration report that warned about the risk to people from falling debris from constellations, calling it “deeply flawed,” SpaceNews reported.
Although commercial constellations dominate attention, much of the rising tide of space debris is believed to be driven by collisions or reports of anti-satellite missile tests.
In August, the body of a Chinese rocket broke apart in an apparent collision with a piece of space debris, creating one of the largest debris fields in recent history.
According to NASA, two previous incidents increased the trash pile by about 70%. These include the destruction of the Chinese Fengyun-1C spacecraft in 2007, which the United States claimed at the time was caused by a Chinese missile, and the accidental collision of a U.S. and Russian spacecraft in 2009.
In 2021, a test of a Russian anti-satellite missile added at least 1,500 pieces of debris, some of which have since disintegrated, the US Space Command said at the time.
In 2008, the United States and India in 2019 demonstrated anti-satellite missiles that added to the debris field.
The Biden administration has promoted a moratorium on such tests, which several countries have adhered to, but not Russia or China.
With information from Reuters.
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