Space junk worries prompt new action by NASA, Congress

NASA and the U.S. Congress want to reduce the risk of space debris.

Due to worries about space debris affecting access to, and utilization of, Earth, big satellite constellations that are being assembled by companies, along with a Russian anti-satellite test in November 2021, are likely fueling these discussions.

As more and more satellites go up, the risk of collision increases. Satellite services such as telecommunications, navigation and weather forecasting can be affected by a few smashups.

There are telescope images and video of space debris.

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The space junk problem is being addressed by a bill in Congress. The ORBITS Act is chaired by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transport.

"This bill will jumpstart the technology development needed to remove the most dangerous junk before it knocks out a satellite, crashes into a NASA mission, or falls to the ground and hurts someone," she said. The bill seeks to create a market for debris removal services by focusing on development and demonstration of technologies.

NASA funded three projects to deal with orbital debris. The projects aim to quantify the economic and social problems caused by space junk.

Maintaining our ability to use space is critical to our economy, our national security, and our nation's science and technology enterprise. The research funded by the awards will help us understand the dynamics of the environment and show how we can reduce the impact of debris.

Three projects are in the works.

•  "Adaptive Space Governance and Decision-Support using Source-Sink Evolutionary Environmental Models," submitted by Richard Linares and Danielle Wood of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Moriba Jah of the University of Texas-Austin; 
•  "An Integrated Assessment Model for Satellite Constellations and Orbital Debris," submitted by Akhil Rao of Middlebury College, Daniel Kaffine of the University of Colorado-Boulder, and Brian Weeden of the Secure World Foundation;
•  "Communication and Space Debris: Connecting with Public Knowledges and Identities," submitted by Patrice Kohl, Sergio Alvarez, and Philip Metzger of the University of Central Florida. 

In August, the FCC pledged a new framework for dealing with in-space servicing assembly and manufacturing risks and opportunities. Two years ago, the last major FCC update on space junk took place.

Vice President Harris said in September that the United States would encourage other nations to abandon destructive anti-satellite tests because of concerns about space debris. She raised the issue while chairing a meeting of the National Space Council in September, after the Biden administration pledged not to conduct anti-satellite missile tests in space.

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