Since the launch of the first artificial satellite in 1957 – the Soviet Union’s Sputnik 1 – countries around the world have been putting satellites and spacecraft into Earth orbit. While the majority of…
Treaties meant to ensure sustainability in space don’t currently regulate private companies, and not every country has signed on to an agreement for sustainable space exploration.
A close call for the International Space Station highlights the growing problem of space junk putting satellites at risk.
As the number of satellites and rocket launches increases, so does the amount of discarded rockets and components. This space junk risks falling to Earth, as it did in Saskatchewan this spring.
Protecting culturally significant spacecraft enables people on Earth to feel connected to space as the common heritage of humanity.
China’s space station Tiangong-1 is about to crash back to Earth any day now. It’s out of control too so no one really knows where it will land. So what if it hits you or your house?
Chances are small that space junk will destroy property or harm a person, and existing space law could deal with such an event. But current law doesn’t address the bigger problem of space pollution.
Most of the time we take light for granted. It arrives with the sunrise everyday and we turn it on with a flick of a switch every night. It appears to be ephemeral and benign to us humans but there is…
A new mission to save NASA’s Swift observatory shows why catching a satellite that was never designed for rescue is one of the hardest jobs in spaceflight.
There needs to be an international approach regarding the management and disposal of space junk.
