Happy Space Week Everyone!!!

A very interesting development in Space Regulations:

The FCC has fined Dish Network USD 150K for failing to move their old satellite far enough away from others orbiting the Earth. This is the first-ever fine to ever be issued for space junk.

While the quantum of the penalty may be relatively small, the fact that a government has actually used its regulatory powers for the first time this way is certainly likely to make the rest of the space industry take notice.

Space debris is a 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 issue.

Donald Kessler, a NASA scientist, envisaged a future where too much junk in orbit would result in a chain reaction with more and more objects colliding to create new space junk to the point where Earth’s orbit becomes entirely unusable, forever imprisoning humanity on the planet’s surface.

Realising the seriousness of the situation, India is also in the process of formally adopting a national mechanism for space debris mitigation. ISRO Space Debris Mitigation Requirements are being formulated in line with the IADC/UN guidelines.

Some fascinating facts and figures on space debris:
o 2,000 active satellites in Earth’s orbit
o 3,000 dead satellites in Earth’s orbit
o 34,000 pieces of space junk larger than 10cm
o 128 million pieces of space junk larger than 1mm 
o 25 debris avoidance manoeuvres required to be made by the ISS since 1999

#space #debris #liability #spaceweek #spacelaw #lawlife