According to several reports, the pressure on Earth’s orbital environment is increasing due to the increasing accumulation of debris. According to the report, experts at the 2024 American Geophysical Union (AGU) meeting in Washington DC highlighted the urgent need for global action to prevent a potential “tragedy of the commons” scenario in space. According to sources, Dan Baker, director of the Atmospheric and Space Physics Laboratory at the University of Colorado, Boulder, was quoted at the meeting as saying that without immediate intervention, low Earth orbit (LEO) could become unusable, preventing critical space missions. May be affected. And scientific research.
Increasing orbital population and collision risks
Reportedly, the European Space Agency (ESA) has documented over 10,200 active satellites currently in Earth orbit, the majority of which are concentrated in LEO, located approximately 125 to 1,250 miles above the surface. A significant portion of these – about 6,800 – belong to SpaceX’s Starlink broadband network, and the number continues to grow. SpaceX plans to expand its constellation to 40,000 satellites, while other entities, including China’s Qianfan Project and Amazon’s Project Kuiper, are also developing larger satellite networks.
According to ESA data, in addition to active satellites, there are more than 40,500 debris objects measuring more than 10 centimeters and an estimated 130 million fragments as small as 1 millimeter in orbit. These fragments, moving at approximately 17,500 miles per hour, pose significant risks to both manned and unmanned missions. David Malaspina, assistant professor at the University of Colorado, described the small debris as potential early indicators of larger chain reactions, comparing them to “canaries in a coal mine.”
Call for regulation and sustainability measures
Reports indicate that the lack of enforceable global regulations on satellite operations has exacerbated the problem. Baker said this regulation encourages vacuum operators to act in self-interest, undermining the collective safety of space. The bipartisan Orbital Sustainability Act (ORBITS) introduced in the United States Congress was described by Baker as a promising step toward addressing the crisis.
Baker also emphasized the cultural and scientific costs of uncontrolled orbital activity at the meeting, highlighting the interference caused by satellite constellations with astronomical observations and the reduced visibility of the natural night sky. Scientists continue to advocate for urgent and coordinated global action to address the growing threats posed by orbital debris.
