It's time to modernize the fight against space junk, U.S. regulators say.
The Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) is pledging to update the rules it enacted just two years ago
to address space debris, with a new focus on in-space servicing
assembly and manufacturing (ISAM) risks and opportunities.
"We believe the new space
age needs new rules," FCC chair Jessica Rosenworcel said in an Aug.
5 statement. Existing regulations, she added, were generally
"designed for a time when going to space was astronomically expensive and
limited to the prowess of our political superpowers."
Rosenworcel pointed out that
megaconstellations and crowdfunded satellites were not possible in the 1950s
when space exploration first began. That said, the new push piggybacks off a
similar space debris effort that the FCC publicized much more recently, in
2020(opens in
That 2020 update was said to be
the most comprehensive revision to space debris rules in more than 15 years,
tackling regulations for U.S. satellite applicants to disclose collision risk,
the probability of safe disposal and possible casualty risk, among other
measures.
This time around, the FCC has
increased discussion around ISAM capabilities that may add to or help
address the thousands of pieces of junk clustering in Earth's orbit, depending
on the situation.
The FCC says(opens in new
tab) ISAM may be able to assist emerging technology in satellite
refueling, fixing old spacecraft, debris capture or repurposing old satellites.
But it warns that making things in space may generate debris on its own, saying
the matter requires more discussion and, down the line, enforcement of a set of
rules.
"It's crucial that, as we
consider crafting orbital debris mitigation rules for U.S satellite service
providers, that we ensure the same or similar obligations apply to ISAM
providers and other space operators," FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington
said a different Aug. 5 statement.
Space junk has featured in a lot of news coverage in recent
months, particularly in relation to a Russian anti-satellite test in
November 2021 that generated a new plume of debris that has since
generated "squalls" of close encounters in orbit.
Meanwhile, SpaceX has
received criticism for the orbital debris risk presented by its fast-growing
Starlink constellation, although the company maintains that its satellites can
maneuver autonomously to avoid collisions.
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