Amount of space debris close to the critical point, warned the European space Agency (ESA). According to the Agency, the Earth's orbit are more than 34 thousands of objects created by humans, but there are no international agreements that would oblige owners of the devices to return them to the Earth.
Experts warn that if immediately not to proceed with garbage collection, the middle space will soon become unsuitable for practical use. The destruction of objects does not solve the problem, and will result in an even greater number of fragments of smaller size.
the scale of the problem increases with the advent of projects such as Starlink Elon musk aimed to create cheap and fast Internet. Only in 2019 SpaceX launched 122 satellite Starlink, and in the coming years their number should increase to 12 thousand.
the Main rule in space - there are no rules
International law regulating the traffic in space does not exist.
According to him, the emergence of international law in this area in the near future "will not happen", but positive developments still exist.
On the earth's orbit are about two thousand active and three thousand non-performing satellites. In addition, around our planet revolve missiles and other objects. Today the main control center of possible collisions in space - a Network of space-based observations United States air force.
According to Krag, it is important for satellite operators, but it has serious flaws.
Lack of reliability of the network of space observation leads to frequent false alarms that cost time, money, and additional pay.
Return of the garbage on the Ground
Today, experts propose to develop methods of returning the space debris to Earth. This is not an easy task because you have to work with tiny objects that do not emit no light, no signal traveling at the speed of 25,000 km/hour on a random orbit. At this speed, the smallest piece can cause irreparable damage. Moreover, the system must be economically efficient because it is necessary to remove tens of thousands of objects.
In 2025 Swiss ClearSpace has performed the first operation for removal of space debris. The first facility will be a satellite of ESA VESPA. Four of the robot "grab" it and pull into the atmosphere where it will disintegrate.
Another solution to clean the orbit is to use the Earth's magnetic fields or plasma rocket engines. In addition to removal of unnecessary objects also the possibility of return of future devices after use.
