WEF sets ambitious five-year target to remove all ‘space-junk’

The World Economic Forum (WEF) has released a new set of guidelines intended to reduce the creation of orbital debris with the help of major satellite operators. It outlined recommendations to avoid collisions that can create debris, by limiting the lifetime of satellites in orbit after they have completed their missions and improving coordination among operators.

The guidelines, titled the Space Industry Debris Mitigation Recommendations, was launched at the Summit for Space Sustainability, organised by the Secure World Foundation. The recommendations were published after in-depth, multi-stakeholder consultations with 27 industry actors from across the space sector who signed onto the document.

The document sets ambitious goals, including specific percentages for post-mission disposal success rates, and a target number of years an object should remain in-orbit at the end of its life. The recommendations call for increased collaboration to reduce space debris, more transparency among operators, an acceleration of technologies and practices for the disposal of spacecraft at end-of-life, and the removal of existing space debris already in orbit.

Kai-Uwe Schrogl, Special Advisor for Political Affairs at the European Space Agency, noted: “ESA very much appreciates to team again with the World Economic Forum on preparing these recommendations, which are an important step for the space sector and which will effectively support the eventual goal of Zero Debris.”

With these latest recommendations highlighting the urgency to address the issue of space debris, Paul Kostek, IEEE senior member and systems engineer at Air Direct Solutions LLC, commented:

“2023 has been a landmark year for space. However, the huge surge in the construction of satellite constellations in low Earth orbit (LEO) is presenting serious logistical challenges, many of which operators may have not really encountered before. This includes the allocation of frequencies for these systems, as well as overall traffic management and managing the increasing volume of small satellites as they reach the end of their life span. Discussions are needed on how to manage the ever-growing amount of satellite traffic and debris, especially as the number of space users grows.

“As this report outlines, companies need to be more mindful of the danger posed by space debris to future launches and vital communications and of their own responsibility. Operators need to address how future satellites will be deployed and managed effectively, and, most importantly, how they can mitigate their re-entry and destruction in Earth’s atmosphere. The industry must work together to find new ways to capture and destroy space waste, to avoid collisions and protect essential services.

“Some companies are already exploring the creation of vehicles to send to space, with the purpose to refuel and move satellites to extend their lives. However, future satellites and arrays will need to be designed to address debris issues in mind, such as changes to the orbit, whilst also being capable of operating if any damage does occur – for example, damage to the modular systems. This could be addressed through the implementation of Space Traffic Management (STM), which could prevent collisions and limit the generation of new debris. However, as highlighted by the WEF, despite the urgency, this takes time.”

The document is an updated and more detailed statement of a previous version and is a significant step towards creating a safe and sustainable operating environment for the space sector.