Recently, the UK hosted the fourth summit for Space Sustainability in London in collaboration with the Secure World Foundation.

What does Sustainability in Outer Space mean?

• One of the hot issues when it comes to space sustainability is orbital crowding.
• With the emergence of large constellations and complex satellites, there is a risk of collisions and interference with radio frequencies.
• It poses a direct threat to the operations and safety of a mission and is likely to cause legal and insurance-related conflicts.
• Space debris is another prominent issue.
• After the completion of a mission, an ‘end-of-life protocol’ requires space objects to be moved to the graveyard orbit or to a low altitude.
• Other causes of concern are solar and magnetic storms which potentially damage communication systems.
• Such space weather threats need to be addressed along with the efforts to identify the terrestrial carbon footprint of outer space missions.

Why was a conference held in the UK?

• Long-term sustainability looks toward space research and development of technology to ensure the reuse and recycling of satellites at every stage.
• The UK plan proposes active debris removal and in-orbit servicing.

Policy measures so far

• As the outer space is considered a shared natural resource, the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) in 2019 adopted a set of 21 voluntary, non-binding guidelines.
• They aim to ensure the long-term sustainability of outer space activities.

What does the UK plan for space sustainability entail?

• The UK calls for an “Astro Carta” for space sustainability, based on the Artemis Accords model for sustainable space exploration.
• The UK Space Sustainability plan mentions four primary elements:

1. To review the regulatory framework of the UK’s orbital activity
2. To work with organisations such as the G-7 and the UN to emphasise international engagement on space sustainability
3. To try and develop safety and quality-related metrics that quantify the sustainability of activities; and
4. To induce additional funding of $6.1 million on active debris removal

• The UK also confirmed investments in its National Space Surveillance and Tracking Programme, which works on collision assessment services for UK-licenced satellite operators.

Where does India stand on space sustainability?

• India is well on its way to create a subsystem that addresses global sustainability questions.
• The headquarters of the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (In-SPACe) was formally inaugurated last month.
• One can expect an increased role of the private sector in India’s space activities.
• The ISRO has initiated ‘Project NETRA’ to monitor space debris.
• To provide in-orbit servicing, ISRO is developing a docking experiment called ‘SPADEX’.
• It looks at docking a satellite on an existing satellite, offering support in re-fuelling and other in-orbit services while enhancing the capability of a satellite.

Way forward

• Outer space in the 2020s can no longer be considered a ‘space race’ because of the cost, when compared to the beginning of this century.
• Today, any entity (government or private) with the necessary access to resources and technology can invest in outer space.
• Sustainable practices in outer space would directly help reduce orbital crowding and collision risk while nurturing future technologies.
• As the natural course of evolution, the Plan for Space Sustainability, which includes private industries, is a timely move.
• This would serve as a model for other space programmes.

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