Everybody's talking about space debris, but who will take action?

Recently, the Chinese launched a Long March 6A rocket to deliver the beginning of a satellite constellation meant to rival SpaceX’s Starlink. Unfortunately, as Ars Technica reports, the second stage of the rocket broke apart into at least 700 pieces, adding to the cloud of space debris now orbiting the Earth.

Besides demonstrating a lack of regard that the Chinese have for space debris, the accident, the second for a Long March 6A, illustrates a growing problem which, if not addressed, threatens navigation in low Earth orbit. 

Space Command tracks more than 47,000 careening objects that threaten everything from the International Space Station to the Starlink constellation. The actual number is likely far greater.

Government space agencies and private corporations have been worried about space debris for many years. Decades of launching satellites into space without thinking about what happens once they reach the end of their operational lives have created a serious problem. 

Unfortunately, no one has seriously set out to do anything about it. That situation may be about to change out of necessity,

NASA recently issued a report consisting of a cost/benefit analysis of removing space debris and mitigating its effects. For larger pieces of space debris, the report suggests spacecraft that capture and send them to burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere. Smaller space debris could be irradiated with either space or ground-based lasers that would slow it down and send it into the Earth’s atmosphere as well.

Other ideas include nudging space debris to a safe orbit and even shielding spacecraft against the rogue objects.

NASA is talking about the space debris problem. Is anyone doing something about it?

A Japanese company called Astroscale, dedicated to in-orbit servicing operations, recently launched the Adras-J on a Rocket Lab Electron rocket. It rendezvoused with a dead rocket stage and took images of it.

Astroscale has received funding to launch its ELSA-M in 2026, The spacecraft will attempt to deorbit a dead OneWeb telecommunications satellite about a year later.

A Swiss company called ClearSpace is planning a mission on behalf of the European Space Agency called ClearSpace-1 to remove a satellite called Proba-1, originally launched in 1998, and send it to destruction in the Earth’s atmosphere.

In the meantime, a Japanese company called Ex-Fusion is developing a ground-based laser system to knock space debris out of orbit. The company will undertake this operation in partnership with EOS Space Systems, an Australian company that has developed technology to detect space debris less than four inches in diameter.

NASA has designed the Active Debris Removal Vehicle, which would grab and deorbit larger objects. It has yet to receive funding.

It seems that the world is not lacking in methods to deal with space debris, when are we going to do something about it?

NASA and other space agencies such as the European Space Agency, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency and the Indian Space Research Organization could institute a program in which they pay private contractors to remove space debris. If the debris belongs to satellites that were launched by private contractors, these entities could be charged for the service, much like firms are required to pay for environmental cleanup.

But what about bad actors such as Russia and China? They may balk at being handed a bill for the messes they have made, such as the recent Long March 6A mishap.

The Space Force might be tasked with space debris removal when a company or nation is unwilling or unable to pay for the service. Grabbing satellites or zapping them with lasers would be features of a future space war. Space debris removal would be the perfect practice for such operations. Ironically, America’s adversaries would have provided the opportunity for the Space Force to hone its war-fighting skills.

Countries can enact regulations mandating that satellites be deorbited at the end of their operational lives instead of left careening around the Earth, adding to the space debris problem.

In any event, it is time to stop worrying about space debris and start doing something about it. Left alone, the clouds of flying space junk will make low Earth orbit space increasingly hazardous to navigate. 

Considering how space assets have increasingly become important to the Earth’s economy and security, leaving the problem alone is an unacceptable and unsustainable option. It’s time to clean up our mess.

Mark R. Whittington is the author of “Why is It So Hard to Go Back to the Moon?” as well as “The Moon, Mars and Beyond,” and, most recently, “Why is America Going Back to the Moon?” He blogs at Curmudgeons Corner.