22 April 2020
SpaceX seeks permission to lower the orbit of all its first-gen Starlink satellites
...satellites altitude. “Because of the increased atmospheric drag at this lower altitude, this relocation will significantly enhance space safety by ensuring that any orbital debris will quickly re-enter and demise in the atmosphere. And because of its...
April 2017
Urgent action needed to keep satellites safe in orbit
... that can be taken that do not entail the expenditure of vast resources. The space community should continue to enumerate, agree-upon and promulgate space safety of flight ‘rules of the road’ for GEO and other orbits. We must also...
April 2020
Satellite mega-constellations pose threat to ground-based astronomy
... In fact, several Starlink satellites are already out of control, which raises concerns about space safety and the growth of the space debris population. Observatories and research institutions are currently evaluating the potential impact of similar...
January 2020
Open source space sustainability
... operator of a manoeuvrable satellite to decide whether or not to manoeuvre. In the words of Holger Krag, ESA’s Head of Space Safety: “This example shows that in the absence of traffic rules and communication protocols, collision avoidance depends...
February 2017
Growing space agency dilemma
... organisations - such as the Secure World Foundation, the International Association for the Advancement of Space Safety (IAASS), the Association of Space Explorers, the B612 Foundation, NASA’s JPL cosmic hazards programmes, ESA’s Earthguard programme...
04 September 2019
A near miss as ESA and SpaceX satellites nearly collide
... protocols, collision avoidance depends entirely on the pragmatism of the operators involved,” explains Holger Krag, Head of Space Safety at ESA. “Today, this negotiation is done through exchanging emails – an archaic process that is no longer viable...
