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“Space pollution doesn't exist"

Really?

The term "space pollution" is sometimes disputed because, in the case of space debris, this pollution does not take place in the ecosphere. Roughly speaking, since there is no life in orbit, it is not possible to pollute orbits.

But there are two paradoxes in this line of reasoning:
 

  • Space debris in orbit is not a pollutant, but it becomes one when it enters the atmosphere.

  • Space debris is not polluting because there is no life in orbit. But the International Space Station (ISS) has to perform several space debris avoidance maneuvers every year because they threaten... astronauts' lives!!!!
     

This false debate about "space pollution" is not unlike the semantic debate about "global warming" or "climate disruption". From our point of view, it is no longer audible today, as it serves to justify the inaction of the players.
 

Now you know why we talk about the orbital environment!

 

In fact, as far back as 1990, a report by the US Congress used the notion of space environment.

the Space debris app

The aim of the Space Debris App is to visualize space debris falls found on land or at sea since the 2010s, and which have been documented in open sources. This application is the winner of the 3rd Cassini Switzerland Hackathon prize in 2022.

These pollutions have an impact on our environment, both on Earth and in space.

When satellites burn up in the atmosphere, their particles pollute the earth, the ocean and the air. These pollutions are currently being studied. Some space objects - which cannot be completely burnt up in the atmosphere - are left in the ocean, notably in the Pacific at Point Nemo, but also on land, sometimes even in residential areas.

In orbit, space debris damages satellites and can even render them inoperable. Eventually, the accumulation of space debris can lead to a chain reaction known as "Kessler Syndrome". Donald J. Kessler, a space debris expert at NASA, has observed that beyond a certain critical mass, the total amount of space debris continues to increase: collisions give rise to further debris and lead to further collisions, in a chain reaction.

 

At present, there is no (yet!) economic model for sustainable management of access to space, for a number of reasons:

  • Citizens and companies who do not have access to this information cannot take a stand on the subject, and force bad actors to adopt sustainable behaviors. Yet they contribute through their taxes to financing the development of the space sector.

  • There are no real legal constraints on unsustainable behavior in space.

  • There is no economic incentive for the sustainable development of space activities.

 

In the next few years, humanity plans to send up to six times as many satellites as it has in 60 years. At this rate, if sufficient resources are not allocated to sustainable orbit management, an environmental catastrophe seems inevitable.

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