The U.S. government has said it will no longer conduct anti-satellite weapons (ASAT) tests. In a public statement during a visit to the Vandenberg Space Force Base, Vice President Kamala Harris confirmed that this policy has the primary purpose of setting an example to other countries. It represents an important step in the direction of setting “spatial norms” for all countries to follow.
ASAT weapons date back to the early years of the Cold War. According to the Guide of the Naval Institute for World Naval Weapons Systems, ASAT weapons were designed for strategic and tactical military purposes. Satellites have long been used by the military for navigation, communication, and gathering information about enemy movements and activities through sophisticated satellite imagery: Spy Satellites.
Although ASAT weapons were never used in the current war, China, India, Russia, and the United States all demonstrated their capability. These weapons have so far only been used by these countries in tests against their own targets, such as decommissioned satellites.
If you are wondering why it would even be necessary for your own satellites to emerge from the sky, it may help to remember that this reminds anyone who is watching that they can destroy a satellite as they wish. It’s a threat: “If it threatens our infrastructure, we can retaliate.” But each successful test throws thousands of new pieces of debris into orbit.
The risks of space junk may not seem obvious at first. After all, the space is huge, and you may not think it’s very likely that a few bits and pieces can hit something important. But it’s worth remembering that every single object in space, from the International Space Station (ISS) down to the smallest patch of paint, is spinning around the Earth at enormous speed, and we keep putting more things in there. . The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) maintains an index of objects launched into space. At the end of January 2022, this list counts 8261 individual satellites, an increase of almost 12% over the previous 10 months. And as Starlink and its rivals settle into the business of building their mega-constellations of communications satellites, this growth will only accelerate. In fact, there have already been collisions between satellites, and it is no longer unusual for satellite owners to avoid each other’s satellites.
So as much as it may seem harmless to your belongings in space, there is a very real threat looming. Every time a satellite is destroyed, whether it has been attacked by ASAT weapons or simply collided with something, it results in thousands of tiny particles scattering around the orbit of the original satellite. On Earth, this would only mean a lot of litter to collect, but in space, and in orbit, it would mean thousands of metal, plastic, and ceramic particles rotating around the planet many times faster than bullets. of a rifle.
A good example of this was when Russia conducted its most recent ASAT test in November 2021. Destroyed satellite debris arrived dangerously close to the International Space Station, and emergency action was needed to remove it from the damage. This is at the heart of the problem. Most of the larger debris from such tests can be tracked with ground-based radar, which is how satellite operators can be warned in advance, but the smaller stuff is actually invisible. Depending on how high it is, it can stay in orbit for a very long time.
Addressing this problem was the main purpose of VP Harris ’announcement. By setting such norms, it is hoped that other countries will follow the same. According to Robin Dicky, a senior analyst at the Aerospace Center for Space Policy and Strategy, “There are tons of conversations of different norms going on – there is no one-size-fits-all solution for how to develop them. an approach that is likely to be very different depending on the content and context. “
The global astronomy community and scientists around the world strongly support the idea of eliminating space debris, which includes the use of anti-satellite testing, but it can still take time to make this a reality. Russia and China have disconnected themselves from European and American Space programs, making the prospect of a “universal protocol” difficult to achieve at this stage.
It may take longer than we hope, but the circumstances are not as daunting as they may seem. Projects like ClearSpace1 are going on to manage “space junk” by collecting it and performing controlled atmospheric burning. And if we can reach a global agreement to end ASAT, this lays the groundwork for long-term sustainable management. This historic announcement by VP Harris is an important step in the right direction.
At the rate of putting things into orbit, it will become vital to reach a consensus between all private enterprises and space agencies. According to the MIT Technology Review, by 2025 there could be up to 1,100 satellites launched each year. As Dicky says, “Setting these common expectations for what is acceptable and unacceptable in space is a crucial step in ensuring that space is safe and usable for everyone in the coming decades.”
More information: Carnegie Institution
