Space Sustainability And The Growing Threat Of Orbital Debris: Towards Stronger Global Governance
- IJLLR Journal
- 5 days ago
- 2 min read
Vani Chaudhary, Christ (Deemed To Be University), Delhi NCR
ABSTRACT
The growing expansion of human activity in space has led to a dramatic increase in orbital debris. This debris is a grave threat to operational spacecraft, human spaceflight and the long term sustainability of the orbital environment. If left unmitigated, orbital debris could lead to the Kessler Syndrome events in which a cascading set of collisions renders critical orbits unusable for decades.
The research highlights the need for improved global governance to deal with the current orbital debris crisis as part of a broader concern for space sustainability. It begins with a discussion of orbital debris accumulation’s scale, causes and consequences and highlights the associated environmental and economic concerns. The study further outlines the existing legal regime including but not limited to the Outer Space Treaty (1967), Liability Convention (1972), Registration Convention (1976) and United Nations Guidelines on the Long-Term Sustainability of Outer Space Activities. While these legal instruments indicate important guiding principles, they do not provide binding enforcement mechanisms, detailed debris mitigation measures or provisions for active debris removal.
The barriers to effective governance, which include limited technological capacity for small debris detection and removal, legal uncertainties surrounding jurisdiction and liability and the cost of mitigation are made worse by a fragmented jurisdiction between national policies and no consolidated international regime. To tackle these deficiencies, the study advocates for a multi- tiered governance scheme comprising inclusivity, transparency, accountability and enforceability. Some recommendations provided include negotiating a binding international treaty focused on debris mitigation and removal; establishing a Global Space Debris Management Authority; standardizing debris mitigation practices, enforced on all space actors; and finally, providing both incentives and penalties for compliance. The role of public-private partnerships is discussed as essential for advancing debris removal technologies and space traffic management.
Through case studies including the 2009 Iridium–Cosmos collision, China’s 2007 anti-satellite test and the 2018 Remove DEBRIS mission, the research demonstrates the urgent need for collaborative governance. In part, it concludes that without enforceable, cooperative governance, the orbital environment will continue to degrade in an irreversible manner and future exploration will be threatened due to longer-term exploitation of orbital space. The initiative for enhanced global governance of outer space is therefore both a legal necessity and a practical necessity for the sustainable use of outer space for the benefit of humankind.
Keywords: Orbital Debris, Space Sustainability, Global Governance, Outer Space Treaty.
