Mission to kill off old satellites
Thousands of inactive satellites are floating in space and pose a danger to humanity, the head of the European Space Agency (ESA) has warned.
Speaking at the agency’s ministerial council in Seville, Spain, Jan Worner said that of almost 4500 satellites in orbit, only 1500 were active. The ESA is working on plans to remove them, with firms such as Airbus developing technologies such as space harpoons and nets.
“We have the space debris, from upper stages, from adapters, from old satellites ... a very big danger,” Worner said. “We are proposing a mission [to] bring down some ESAowned assets. And at the same time . . . we would also demonstrate that it’s possible to avoid future space debris by doing also some direct deorbiting.”
Space scientists are concerned that defunct models could collide with active satellites or the International Space Station, which would then cause more debris, setting off a catastrophic chain reaction that could wipe out telecommunications systems — a phenomenon known as Kessler Syndrome.
Worner also called for missions to practise destroying or deflecting meteorites, describing it as like “playing billiards in space”.
“The dinosaurs died out because of a meteorite, most probably,” he said.
“We don’t want to be dying out because of a meteorite ... and together with the Americans, we are proposing a mission in that.”
Ministers were meeting in Seville to discuss a schedule of space missions for the next few years.
Graham Turnock, the head of the UK Space Agency, said Britain would continue to play a “full part” in the ESA after Brexit. Britain also hopes to play a part in the Lunar Gateway, a space station intended to provide a stepping stone between the Moon and Earth.