Time for a fresh look at space junk

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March 1, 2019

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Time for a fresh look at space junk

Source: Agencies | 07:06 UTC+8 March 1, 2019 |

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Europe needs its own technology to guard against the growing threat to its satellites from space junk ranging from dead satellites to tiny particles, according to a top adviser to the European Space Agency.

With the world increasingly reliant on orbital infrastructure to maintain communications links and steer new generations of autonomous vehicles, scientists warn that the danger posed by debris in orbit has grown exponentially.

“We are getting around 100 alarms a day about approaching particles,” said ESA adviser Thomas Reiter. “Every two weeks, a satellite has to dodge something.”

Europe has invested billions in its Galileo global positioning satellites, partly to ensure it is not dependent on US systems, but it still relies on the US military to track the hardest-to-spot threats.

“Europe needs to be able to analyze what is happening in orbit itself,” said Reiter, a former astronaut. “We are not in a position to get a picture of what is happening up there.”

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Time for a fresh look at space junk

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