The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Space Debris Office published its annual Space Environment Report on Friday 19 July. It points out that more satellites were launched in 2023 than in previous years, and reminds us that the Earth’s orbital environment is a limited resource.
In these conditions, space debris has increased, while “not enough satellites leave these [...] orbits at the end of their lives”. Satellites are at risk of fragmenting into clouds of debris. The report points out that measures to reduce space debris will not be enough if the number of pieces of debris increases at the same time. ESA has counted over a million pieces of space debris larger than 1 cm, a size that could cause “catastrophic damage ”.
This situation increases the number of manoeuvres required of active satellites to avoid collisions. Commercial communications satellites are being blamed. They contribute to a high concentration in low Earth orbit, at an altitude of between 500 and 600 km.
ESA is following a zero-debris approach, with the year 2030 in its sights, and is focusing on reducing deorbit times from 25 to 5 years.
Last year, the Agency also facilitated the creation of the ‘Zero Debris Charter’ in Europe, which 12 countries and more than 100 commercial and non-commercial entities have since signed or pledged to sign.
The report stresses that the future of space activities is at stake here, because without an effective reduction in space waste, the space environment could become increasingly congested and dangerous. (Original version in French by Florent Servia)