Even tiny pieces of space junk can damage or destroy satellites. (Image: National Space Information Center)
WASHINGTON: The White House has unveiled a long-awaited implementation plan to address the rapid rise in dangerous space debris, and will deploy 44, mostly in research, for the Pentagon, NASA, the Department of Commerce, and other agencies. I have set a separate task. However, it does include a review of best practices for operators.
The most important is the National Orbital Debris Implementation Plan. [PDF] This includes governments, private and commercial operators being encouraged or required under licensing regulations to remove dead satellites from orbit earlier than the 25-year deadline for end of life. This includes re-raising the question of whether
Many scientists and industry insiders have plagued the US government with the problem of overcrowding in the skies, especially in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), where thousands of new satellites are being launched. Requiring operators of large constellations to take down satellites early in a controlled manner is one way to ensure that LEO does not become cluttered and impossible to operate there.
In fact, the Space Force last year called on industry to work on developing orbiting “garbage trucks” that would pick up large pieces of space junk, such as dead satellites, and either push them down into the atmosphere to burn or pull them up and retrieve them. I was. A high orbit where no active spacecraft are currently stationed.
This new study will be led by NASA. NASA, with support from the DoD, Department of Commerce, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and Federal Communications, led the final (and controversial) review of the US government’s Orbital Debris Mitigation Standard Procedures in 2019. . Commission (FCC). The plan does not specify a timeline, but says the study is “short-term” and should include a cost-benefit analysis that modifies deorbit deadlines.
The U.S. military, and Space Command in particular, now collects and tracks data on space objects and notifies spacecraft operators of potential collisions. His 2018 Space Policy Directive-3 (SPD-3) of the Trump administration called for the creation of a private agency to provide space situational awareness support to nonmilitary space operators. And the Department of Defense is now transferring responsibility for providing notice to private and commercial operators to the Department of Commerce.
Commerce, through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, currently has regulatory authority only over operators of remote sensing satellites.
The FAA, which regulates satellite launches, and the FCC, which regulates operators’ use of radio frequency spectrum for broadcasting, also have policies and/or regulations aimed at limiting the generation or accumulation of debris.
The implementation plan put together by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) builds on the National Orbital Debris Research and Development (R&D) Plan announced in 2021, just before the end of the Trump administration.
Additionally, the document notes that the program is also promoting SPD-3, which initiates potential regulation of space traffic, and that OSTP is working with the National Space Council on the latter issue. I am struggling with
OSTP divides the specific actions assigned to various agencies into three categories. object characterization, tracking and storage; and restoration. The Department of Defense has assigned leaders or co-leaders on about 17 tasks, but supports many others. Of the places where the Department of Defense holds the helm, the list includes:
- Explore options and develop software solutions for determining when and how to maneuver spacecraft to avoid potential collisions. (Co-lead with NASA).
- “Consider developing a database for spacecraft operators to report anomalies and, when available, report root causes of anomalies and lessons learned. Timely among spacecraft owners/operators.” Investigate the concept of shared knowledge and disseminate best practices on a useful timescale.” Become.)
- “Extend the current catalog of resident spatial objects to
Objects required for debris remediation design. (Again, until we moved to commerce.) - Sponsor research and development on methods to measure physical properties of debris.
- “We will prioritize research that analyzes how to get more satellite tracking data.
existing system. ” - “We will provide the orbital debris community with a research collaboration platform, including an open architecture and application programming interfaces that facilitate the bi-directional exchange of data, algorithms and documents with academia, research centers such as the FFRDC, and commercial entities.”
- Review the current policy regarding the distribution of trajectory tracking data.
- Advancing technologies that enable the “repair and repurposing” of spacecraft and components, including the development of interface standards for connecting satellites to orbital vehicles.
