The European Space Agency (ESA) is in talks with Elon Musk’s SpaceX company to join an international charter to reduce space debris. This was reported by Reuters, citing ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher.
The agency, in which 22 countries participate, makes great efforts to collect waste around the planet. So-called space junk is a consequence of previous missions and threatens the security of active satellites. According to Aschbacher, 110 countries and companies have joined the Zero Debris charter of ESA. The goal is zero orbital debris by 2030.
SpaceX satellites currently account for about two-thirds of active low-orbit spacecraft. When asked if the company had signed the charter, Aschbacher replied: “Not yet, but we are in the process of talking.”
SpaceX did not respond to a request for comment.
Of the roughly 10,300 active satellites in orbit, about 6,300 are part of SpaceX’s Starlink constellation.
China has launched its own constellations in competition with Starlink, as well as Amazon, which plans to launch more than 3,000 satellites this decade.
Amazon signed the charter, Aschbacher said.
According to Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer from Harvard, there are about 18,897 parts of damaged satellites in orbit, writes BTA.
There are no international laws on space debris, but individual countries and ESA have tried to propose different solutions to the problem in recent years. “We’re not a regulator, we’re a space agency,” Aschbacher said. “But the fact is that we put the charter on the table and it was signed, which is very encouraging.”
The US Federal Communications Commission issued recommendations to SpaceX about debris in orbit. These include deorbiting (burning up in the atmosphere) the satellites up to five years after the end of their activity.
In 2023, SpaceX criticized the US Federal Aviation Administration for a report outlining the risks to humans from possible space debris falls.
Despite the fact that it is mostly about commercial satellites, much of the space debris is generated by collisions and tests of anti-satellite missiles. In August, a Chinese rocket exploded after colliding with debris, generating the largest space dump in history to date.
According to NASA, two earlier incidents increased the debris by 70 percent. These are the 2007 breakup of China’s Fengyun-1C spacecraft, which the U.S. says was caused by a Chinese missile, and the 2009 accidental collision between a U.S. and Russian spacecraft.
In 2021, a Russian anti-satellite missile conducted a test, leaving at least 1,500 pieces of debris.
The US and India demonstrated, in 2009 and 2019 respectively, anti-satellite missiles that caused debris flows. US President Joe Biden’s administration has proposed a moratorium on these tests. Several countries signed the moratorium, but Russia and China did not join.