UN space chief Aarti Holla-Maini is calling on global governments and industries to step up their efforts to clean up space debris. This should happen mainly on the basis of voluntary guidance. That would be easier than pushing for a new global treaty, which will be “difficult” to conclude, a senior UN official told the Financial Times (“FT”).
“We need a multilateral process and as much cooperation as possible,” Holla-Maini said. However, drafting a binding treaty at a time of global tensions and international rivalry in space will be “controversial and time-consuming.” An agreement that “resolves all problems would be difficult”.
National regulators should instead accelerate the implementation of a set of voluntary UN guidelines published in 2019. This would significantly advance the sustainability of space travel. These include suggestions for safely managing activities in space, deactivating debris and better exchanging information, Holla-Maini said.
Takeoff traffic 27 times higher than ten years ago
NASA estimates that around 9,000 tons of debris orbit the Earth at speeds of up to 25,000 km/h, such as old rocket bodies, discarded satellites and fragments of exploded engines. Even the smallest pieces of debris would pose a danger.
According to the Space Sustainability Rating, an initiative of the World Economic Forum, launch traffic into low Earth orbit (LEO) is 27 times what it was a decade ago. The LEO region, located up to 2,000 km above Earth, has been the focus of recent activity and is responsible for 96% of space debris.
Geopolitical tensions are making discussions difficult
Geopolitical tensions between the West, Russia and China would likely complicate discussions about new dynamics in space, the “FT” cited experts as saying.
The 1967 Outer Space Treaty, concluded at a time when the United States and the Soviet Union were vying for technological dominance, is widely considered inadequate for the rapid development of a commercial space sector. The UN itself called for a new legal framework last year.