Our planet has a problem… or rather we have created a problem. The Earth’s orbital regimes are becoming increasingly populated with not only satellites but bits of debris of varying sizes: spent rocket stages, nuts, bolts, even fragments of paint and all of these objects pose a threat to operational spacecraft and the space environment. As we talk about the prospect of doing more in space: launching large constellations of small satellite into LEO, asteroid mining, building a Moon village, we need to focus on how we clean up the mess that we have already created. How can we expect to do more in space when we are not cleaning up after ourselves or if we don’t even know what’s up there and what risks it could pose.
Helen Jameson, Editor-in-Chief of SpaceWatch Middle East, was fortunate enough to have an enlightening half-hour chat with Moriba Jah, Associate Professor, Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at the University of Texas, Austin, and space environmentalist, who is in the midst of creating a taxonomy that will transform the way we look at the manmade objects that orbit our planet.