Space Debris Crisis

• 08 Mar 2025

Source: TH 

Why in News?

A 500-kg metal object crashed in Kenya, sparking concerns over space debris and highlighting the increasing global issues of accountability and safety measures for debris reentries. 

What is Space Debris?

• About: According to the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) ‘Space debris is all man-made objects, including fragments and elements thereof, in Earth orbit or re-entering the atmosphere, that are non-functional’. 
  • It includes defunct satellites, rocket stages, and fragments from explosions or collisions. 
• Origin: Most space debris comes from on-orbit breakups i.e., satellites or rocket stages explode, collide, or fragment in space.  
  • NASA estimates 23,000 debris pieces larger than a baseball, 500,000 marble-sized scraps, and 100 million fragments over one millimeter orbiting Earth. 
• Space Debris Destruction: Debris loses altitude and burns up on re-entry due to atmospheric drag. It is intensified by the 11-year solar activity cycle that expands the atmosphere, accelerating the decay of low-orbit debris. 
• Associated Risks: 
  • On-Orbit Risks: Large debris can destroy satellites, while even 1 cm fragments can disable spacecraft. Millimeter-sized particles erode surfaces and damage solar panels. 
  • Re-entry Risks: Most debris burns up, but some large fragments may reach Earth, though the risk of injury is very low. 
  • Kessler Syndrome: Kessler Syndrome is a chain reaction of debris collisions creating even more debris, potentially making orbits unusable for future space missions. 
• International Regulations: 
  • Outer Space Treaty (1967): Article VI of the treaty makes states responsible for all national space activities, including private ones, but lacks enforcement mechanisms. 
  • Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects (1972): It imposes absolute liability for space object damage on Earth, requiring no proof of negligence, but enforcement is weak. 
  • Voluntary UN Guidelines on Deorbiting: The UN recommends deorbiting satellites within 25 years, but compliance rate is only around 30%. 
• Initiatives to Remove Space Debris: 
  • Global: ClearSpace-1 and Remove DEBRIS (by ESA), OSAM-1 (NASA). 
  • India: Debris Free Space Mission (DFSM), Network for Space object TRacking and Analysis (NETRA).