Space Sustainability Overview
The concept of Space Sustainability has garnered increasing interest in recent years, paralleling the “NewSpace” surge in space activities and innovation. However, its definition can vary among organizations and individuals, leading to ambiguity. This section clarifies diverse perspectives on space sustainability and examines its intersection with the broader notion of sustainability.
Definitions Overview: Before getting into what space sustainability itself is, though, we need to go over the main types of sustainability – environmental, economic, and social – as well as the general definition of sustainability.
- Environmental: Environmental Sustainability is the responsibility to protect our ecosystems around the world and also conserve our natural resources from depletion so that we can support the health and well-being of our world now and in the future
- Economic: According to the University of Mary Washington, Economic Sustainability is a “practice that aims to support long-term economic growth without negatively impacting social, environmental, and cultural aspects of the community”
- Social: Social Sustainability refers to “identifying and managing business impacts, both positive and negative on people”. It is a critical part of business as it promotes the well-being of relationships with all stakeholders.
- General Sustainability Definition: The definition of sustainability itself can be stated as “fulfilling the needs of current generations without compromising the needs of future generations while ensuring a balance between economic growth, environmental care, and social well-being.”.
As mentioned above, many different organizations involved in the space economy take these general sustainability concepts and definitions and apply them to space in different ways. Here we look at four definitions of space sustainability to gain insight into the width and breadth of the topic.
Secure World Foundation (SWF) Definition: The definition of space sustainability by the Secure World Foundation (SWF) is “Ensuring that all humanity can continue to use outer space for peaceful purposes and socioeconomic benefit now and in the long term. This will require international cooperation, discussion, and agreements designed to ensure that outer space is safe, secure, and peaceful.”. The way that SWF words this definition is based on the assumption that space will continue to be developed in the future and not just be the sole domain of government agencies.
UNOOSA Definition: “The long-term sustainability of outer space activities is defined as the ability to maintain the conduct of space activities indefinitely into the future in a manner that realizes the objectives of equitable access to the benefits of the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes, in order to meet the needs of the present generations while preserving the outer space environment for future generations.”. According to UNOOSA, their long-term vision focuses on how space will benefit everyone and ensure sustainable space activities now and for all future generations.
National Space Society (NSS) Definition: The National Space Society (NSS) takes a different approach to defining space sustainability, and it tends to focus more on “economic” and “commercial” sustainability in space. Their approach is more focused on ensuring that economic barriers can be broken and space activities can be conducted. Especially when it comes to this emerging industry, money can be hard to come by at times, and economic sustainability is critical to ensuring the survival of any industry or market.
NASA Definition: As a US government agency, NASA has over time come to define space sustainability from an “economic” and “political” standpoint focused more on the present day than the future. They aim to ensure that all of their space activities – including their space debris and space sustainability efforts – are budgetarily proportional, politically popular with both Congress and other stakeholders, and economically valuable to the states in which they operate. So long as a NASA program fulfills these criteria to some extent it is considered sustainable – that is able to be continued without budgetary or political issues.
What is the scope of Space Sustainability?
Space sustainability encompasses a wide-ranging subject matter, and as indicated by its definitions, diverse organizations or individuals may interpret it differently. Consequently, it encompasses numerous aspects, each contributing significantly to enhancing the safety and security of our orbital environment. The breadth of topics under space sustainability is extensive, necessitating ongoing updates and expansion. With our current capacity, we aim to provide foundational coverage of several essential areas. However, as our team and organization expand, we intend to develop dedicated sections for each specific topic to delve deeper into their importance to the sustainability of our orbit.
Space Sustainability Topics:
- Orbital Management & Awareness
- Satellite Design & End-of-Life (EOL) Disposal
- Resource Utilization
- Launch Vehicles
- The Importance of the Space Environment
- Space Governance & Collaboration
- Current Roadblocks & Challenges to Space Sustainability
- Commercialization and the Space Economy
**For this section, you can expect to see a high-level overview of a few topics related to ‘Orbital Management & Awareness’. Other topics will be uploaded in due time.
Space Situational Awareness (SSA)
SSA definition: Space Situational Awareness (SSA) encompasses a comprehensive understanding of the dynamic conditions and activities within the space environment. SSA incorporates data collection, analysis, and interpretation to assess potential risks, including collisions between satellites, space debris hazards, celestial events such as near-earth objects (NEOs), and space weather phenomena. It involves the continuous monitoring, tracking, and prediction of objects and events in space to inform decision-making processes related to space operations, satellite deployments, and space mission planning. SSA serves as a critical component of space safety, security, and sustainability efforts, enabling proactive measures to mitigate risks and safeguard space assets and infrastructure.
Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST): SST involves the systematic observation, monitoring, and tracking of objects and activities within Earth’s orbit and beyond. It encompasses the use of ground-based and space-based sensors, telescopes, radar systems, and other monitoring technologies to detect and track satellites, space debris, near-earth objects (NEOs), and other celestial bodies.
Space Weather Monitoring and Forecast (SWE): SWE includes the continuous observation, analysis, and prediction of solar and interplanetary phenomena that can impact space-based and Earth-based systems. It encompasses the monitoring of solar activity, such as solar flares, coronal mass ejections (CMEs), and solar wind, as well as their effects on Earth’s magnetosphere, ionosphere, and atmosphere. It is a critical early warning system to give us forecasts and predictions of weather events that could disrupt satellite and terrestrial infrastructure such as communications, navigation, power grids, and more.
Near Earth Objects (NEO) monitoring (Natural Space Objects): In contrast to monitoring artificial and man-made debris, NEO involves the observation and tracking of celestial bodies, such as asteroids and comets whose orbits come into close proximity with Earth’s orbit. The main objective of NEO monitoring is to detect, characterize, and assess the potential threat posed by NEOs that could collide with Earth.
Space Traffic Management (STM)
Definition: STM refers to the coordinated and regulated oversight of spacecraft and satellites operating in Earth’s orbit and beyond. The primary objective of STM is to ensure the safe, efficient, and sustainable use of outer space by minimizing the risk of collisions, reducing orbital congestion, and promoting responsible space operations.
It also involves the development and implementation of various policies, procedures, and technical standards to govern space activities – including orbital maneuvers, rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO), end-of-life disposal (EOL), and satellite launching.
Key Components of STM: Listed below are some examples of what STM has to offer.
- Satellite Registration & Identification
- Orbital Coordination & Allocation
- Collision Avoidance & Conjunction Assessments
- Space Situational Awareness (SSA)
- International Cooperation & Collaboration
- Regulatory & Compliance Frameworks
How is STM different from SSA? STM and SSA are related concepts but serve different purposes as it pertains to the sustainability of our orbit. For starters, SSA is a foundational component of STM. It involves a comprehensive understanding of our space environment, which includes the identification, tracking, and characterization of objects and other phenomena in orbit. This means that SSA serves as the information-gathering and awareness component for STM. On the other hand, STM utilizes the information gathered from SSA to make decisions and perform operations. This allows STM to regulate and coordinate space traffic through the development of policies, procedures, and technical standards to ensure the safe and efficient operation of assets in orbit. In short, SSA and STM can’t exist without the other. Each has a distinctive role and plays a critical part in creating a sustainable orbit for space activities.
Why is STM critical for Sustainability? STM plays a crucial role in ensuring the safety, security, and sustainability of our orbit. By managing space traffic, minimizing collision risks, decluttering our orbit, and mitigating space debris, STM works to ensure that we can continue to utilize and benefit from our orbit for generations to come.
Space Debris Management (SDM)
Definition: Space Debris Management or Mitigation (SDM) is the mitigation and remediation of space debris from our orbit. This includes anything from small fragments to massive derelict objects. SDM also encompasses strategies, guidelines, best practices, and policies to help reduce the creation of new debris. The primary goal of SDM is to minimize new debris formation and mitigate the current hazards we face from existing debris populations that could impact operational spacecraft, satellites, and other critical assets and infrastructure.
Key Components of SDM: Listed below are some examples of what SDM has to offer.
- Spacecraft Design Guidelines & Standards
- End-of-life Disposal Procedures & Standards
- Debris Removal Technologies
- International Guidelines, Standards & Laws
- Data Sharing & Collaboration
Key Objectives of SDM:
- Minimize the creation of new space debris
- Mitigate the risks created by existing space debris
- Ensure the long-term sustainability of orbit and all space activities
- Protect active and future space assets and infrastructure
- Promote responsible behavior from all parties
Why is SDM critical for Sustainability? SDM is critical to creating sustainability in our orbit because it helps minimize collision risks, protects active space assets, preserves our orbital regimes, and reduces the overall risk of conducting space activities.
Differences between STM & SDM
In short, the main difference between STM and SDM is that STM focuses on managing traffic and coordinating space activities, while SDM focuses on mitigating the risks associated with space debris, as well as minimizing the risk that debris has on space operations and the space environment. Both concepts are critical for overall sustainability and work in tandem to ensure that we can achieve a safe, secure, and sustainable orbital environment for future generations.
Why should we care?
Space sustainability is of utmost importance because outer space and space activities profoundly influence our daily lives, often without our awareness. A plethora of critical infrastructure that underpins our everyday activities relies on satellites, including banking services, GPS navigation, weather forecasting, and social media platforms.
Moreover, satellite infrastructure plays a pivotal role in advancing scientific pursuits, particularly in earth and climate science. Satellites enable us to monitor crucial aspects of our planet, such as deforestation, pollution levels, and ocean health, thereby enhancing our understanding of the world and fostering environmental and societal progress.
In essence, the significance of space sustainability cannot be overstated. Any disruption to our satellite infrastructure would have far-reaching consequences, significantly impacting our daily routines and potentially setting modern society back by decades. Therefore, ensuring the sustainability of space activities is essential to safeguarding our interconnected global systems and securing a prosperous future.
