Brussels cannot ignore 128 million objects floating in the universe anymore

The EU takes pride in being green and sustainable because both humanity and the planet can benefit from these habits. Nevertheless, sustainability needs to step up now and extend to outer space as well. According to a study carried out by the European Parliament's Center for Study and Research on the Sustainability of the Space Sector, "political action and better regulation of commercial satellite launches are needed to improve space sustainability". The NASA is getting worried about "space junk" and covered the issue in a report recently. The European Space Agency (ESA) did the same last year, coming up with a document, 'Zero Debris Charter', to "declutter" the orbit by 2030.

Space as the ultimate landfill

Space is becoming increasingly crowded. With every satellite launched into orbit, new debris is created and, if not removed, destined to become space junk. The scientific community is aware of this problem and that is why it has decided to launch an appeal for a global effort to eliminate the waste orbiting our planet. NASA, too, recently dedicated a report to the issue, analyzing the dangers faced daily by the International Space Station and Earth-orbiting satellites due to space debris, potential solutions, and their costs.
According to Wired, the risk currently faced by satellites, space stations, and rockets leaving from our planet is still relatively low. But experts assure that it is destined to increase rapidly in the coming years without decisive international interventions. One of the first to raise the issue in the 1970s was NASA astrophysicist Donald Kessler, who came up with the concept now known as the Kessler syndrome: a hypothetical scenario in which the density of satellites and debris orbiting our planet becomes so high that a single collision between two relatively large objects (a few meters in diameter) sets off a chain reaction, with the resulting debris causing new collisions, generating more debris, and so on. The result is such a crowded orbit of fragments that it becomes impossible to launch new tools, satellites, or rockets into space for decades, until gravity takes its course, bringing space junk back into the atmosphere to disintegrate and fall back to Earth's surface.
It's not certain that such a scenario will become reality, but there is increasing pressure for stricter rules to prevent overcrowding of Earth's orbit and the deleterious effects it could have both on the space industry and on our planet's environment. It is estimated that by 2030, the number of satellites in orbit will have increased from the current 9,000 to over 60,000, and although protocols are in place to minimize the possibility of new launches producing debris in orbit, these are currently voluntary initiatives in the absence of international regulations governing the issue.

The European Space Agency's Charter

The ESA has recently expressed its concerns as well as NASA over space debris. According to the agency, today 130 million objects larger than 1 mm (and of those, 34,000 are bigger than 10 cm and 900,000 bigger than 1 cm) are currently spinning through space at 7 km/sec. More than 8,000 space craft currently create debris by colliding with space debris orbiting the Earth. Because space debris increases the light in the sky, it hampers astronomical observation and damages radio frequency, both of which need a dark and quiet sky. This could really hinder future exploration and exploitation of space, which is so essential to human development. That is why the agency was encouraged to implement a solution, so the 'Zero Debris Charter' was born. In this document, some guiding principles and defined targets are listed to reach the goal of eliminating "space junk" from the orbit by 2030. This Charter does not hold a legal value, but it is a declaration of intent which could bring the "green transition" designed in the Green Deal in outer space as well as on Earth.

The new EU Space Law

To make intents binding, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has proposed a law planned for adoption in early 2024 to address the 'space waste' problem. According to the European Parliament Research Service (EPRS), the new EU Space Law will be structured around three main pillars which should all contribute to drastically reduce space debris. The first is about improving satellite traffic management to decrease the likeliness of collision, thus debris. On 23 May 2023, the Council had already adopted conclusions on the ‘Fair and sustainable use of space’, which includes a call for a European approach to space traffic management, at a time when orbits are increasingly congested with space objects. On 8 December 2023, the Council adopted conclusions on the current state of play of space traffic management, highlighting the urgent need for a common approach to ensure a safe and sustainable European space policy. A second measure of the new law is about creating resilient space infrastructure against cyberattacks. Finally, space needs to be taken care of so it can be exploited as an economic engine. The main challenges will be the impact of re-entries, or light pollution that hinders astronomical observation, and environmental impacts on Earth itself.
We need to remember that whenever there is an economy, there is pollution and a need for sustainability. This is also what has happened with space economy. The EU space program for 2021-2027 was adopted by the Council in 2021 and is funded with €14.8 billion. The program needs now to consider the possibility to transition to a green space economy in accordance with the objectives established in the Green Deal.