The space becomes more and more congested and the experts ring the alarm.
In a reportThe European space agency said that around 1,200 pieces of rockets and satellite debris fell on Earth last year.
And as 54,000 spaces of space more than 10 cm remain floating around the planet, the organization adds that they even increase in “number and size”.
Other experts argue that the rate of return objects could reach 15 per day within ten years.
The reasons include an increase in satellite launches, in particular by SpaceX and China, as well as an increased solar activity, which slows down spatial objects, which makes them decompose more quickly.
“The cascade effect of collisions between space debris, known as Kessler's syndrome, creates even more debris, increasing the risk of new collisions,” ESA told Euronews.
“This makes it crucial to actively eliminate the large non -functional objects from the most populated orbits to stabilize the population of debris”.
France losing space with debris
France would be the European nation which poses the highest orbital risk, with 533 pieces of debris and rockets dispersed in orbit, as well as 105 active satellites.
It is according to a spatial risk score written by the aerospace equipment manufacturer Yijinwho analyzed the data compiled by Space-Track.org and N2YO.com.
His spokesperson Gavin Yi says that a “debris cascade could explain to us in orbit for generations.”
“As orbit highways become more congested, the European approach to space management will determine if we maintain access to this critical field”.
France, however, implemented the space debris attenuation guidelines adopted by the UN, which include measures to minimize the creation of debris, such as deorbit and anti-corrosion treatment for satellites at the end of their life cycle.
The country also has a law on space operations which obliges responsible spatial activities and debit mitigation strategies.
The United Kingdom ranks secondly, only because it exploits the largest satellite fleet on the continent (658). Its creation of debris is in fact minimal, with a single piece of orbit.
The European space agency has also demonstrated a “good orbital waste management”, says the report, with 95 satellites and only 27 pieces of debris.
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ESA has several programs and initiatives in place to reduce its spatial impact, including the Clean Space initiative, which develops technologies for more sustainable missions, as well as its space debris office, which monitors and models the debris environment to reduce collisions and back to school.
Its report on the space environment, however, emphasizes that “current levels of compliance with the attenuation directives of space debris in general are insufficient to obtain a long -term sustainable space environment”.
The chances of being injured by space debris “less than one in 100 billion”
At the same time, an ESA spokesperson told Euronews that the risk of spatial debris for humans was distant.
“The annual risk of an individual human being injured by space debris is less than a billion out of 100 billion. In comparison, a person is about 65,000 times more likely to be struck by lightning.”
ADVERTISEMENTMany space objects separate into smaller fragments when falling on earth, because they burn due to the atmospheric compression and the speeds they reach.
“The spatial debris parts that survive have only very rarely cause damage to the ground,” explains ESA.
Why is it so difficult to remove space debris?
ESA says that “targeting these small pieces is extremely difficult”.
“The active elimination of debris (ADR) implies complex operations such as the appointment with and the capture of tumultuous objects in space.”
ADVERTISEMENTIn addition, they add: “The property of space debris is an important legal obstacle.”
“According to the Treaty of Outdoor Space, the property of space objects remains in the launch state, even if the object is no longer functional. This lack of rescue duties complicates the deletion process”.
“The financing of ADR missions was a challenge.
ESA said it was aimed at limiting debris production thanks to its zero debris approach by 2030, warning, however, that “reaching this objective requires global cooperation and membership of directives”.
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