There is nothing like the sense of wonder, awe, and curiosity one feels when gazing up at the stars at night, especially now when we are in the midst of a new space age where private companies are working in partnership with space agencies all over the world and pushing the limits of what is possible.

This has led to a burgeoning space industry which is predicted to be worth $1.8 trillion by 2035.

From industry leading rocket companies such as SpaceX to growing startups like Thistle Rocketry, the sector has participants of all sizes. The competition between private companies such as Starlink and SpaceSail to launch tens of thousands of satellites for a global satellite internet network suggests that there is commercial demand for the services.

The USA and China are both racing to be the first nation to send humans to Mars, pushing the bounds of human exploration. There is significant space activity all over the globe and this has drawn attention to the international law and guidelines which regulate how operators should behave.

This has been particularly the case for the looming and ever-increasing problem of space debris and the impact it could have on our environment and on future space projects. While some may dream of setting up a new home millions of miles away, we must ensure that we protect and care for the home we already have here on Earth.

There are currently millions of pieces of space debris whizzing around the Earth at around 18,000 mph. This includes inactive objects from previous space missions, fragments from exploded space equipment or accidental collisions, and parts of satellites destroyed by missiles launched from Earth.

After almost 70 years of space launches, the volume of debris in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) is beginning to become a problem. The high velocity of the objects means that even a small fragment can cause material damage. This could put the viability of future scientific or commercial satellites at risk and the lives of astronauts in jeopardy.

Kessler Syndrome is the chain reaction that occurs when one object in space collides with another causing the creation of more debris which in turn collide with other objects and the chain continues. The fear is that this could render regions of LEO unsuitable for future missions.

The vast majority of debris burns up as it falls back down to Earth, which can release pollutants into the atmosphere or even affect the ozone layer. In very rare cases, larger objects from space may not burn up completely on re-entry meaning that fragments could reach populated areas. Planned re-entry missions land in the ocean and there is concern about how this could impact the marine environment.

The good news is that there are preventative measures which can be adopted to try and mitigate the impacts of space debris. Satellites which reach the end of their life can be sent to graveyard orbits, remote regions where they won’t return to Earth.

The tracking and monitoring of all objects in space can help to prevent collisions when sending new objects into space and moving existing ones. It is clear that international regulation and co-operation is necessary to ensure that the global problem of space debris can be effectively addressed.

The laws which exist to regulate space and more specifically space debris are composed of both binding and non-binding international agreements, guidelines and national laws. The origins of space law can be found in the Outer Space Treaty (OST) created by the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space in 1967.

It required that states conduct space activities “with due regard” to others and prevent “harmful contamination”. Article IX states that parties shall: “conduct exploration of [outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies] so as to avoid their harmful contamination and also adverse changes in the environment of the Earth resulting from the introduction of extraterrestrial matter and, where necessary, shall adopt appropriate measures for this purpose”.

The UN followed this with a Liability Convention in 1972 which made states liable for any fault-based damage caused by their space objects on Earth or in space. In 1974 a Registration Convention introduced by the UN required all states to provide details on all objects they launched to space for the purposes of tracking.

To help co-ordinate the efforts of space agencies, the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC) was set up in 1993 to help tackle space debris as a common problem, and this was later expanded upon in 2004 by the European Code of Conduct for Space Debris Mitigation. The UN COPUOS Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines were adopted in 2007, and they contain best practices to prevent the creation of new space debris.

More recently, the United States led a multilateral effort known as the Artemis Accords to provide more clarity regarding international norms in space. It builds on Article IX of the OST by requiring that the location and nature of space operations be made public to prevent harmful interference and conflicts in activities. As of 21 January 2025, it has been signed by 53 countries.

In Europe, the European Space Agency launched a Zero Debris Charter initiative in June 2023 encouraging countries to sign up to becoming space debris neutral by 2030. It has been signed by 15 countries so far. These are promising steps, but the international agreements don’t make a pledge to remove existing space debris.

National legislation is binding and impacts both national space agencies and private space companies. Here in the UK, the Space Industry Act 2018 requires the UK Space Agency to align with the principals of the OST and helps the UK comply with international standards under the treaty. Licensees are required to implement best practice space debris mitigation techniques such as collision avoidance and plans to deorbit.

The European Commission is currently in the final stages of preparing comprehensive EU Space Law, due to be published in the second quarter of 2025. The law is expected to focus on three areas: space navigation, space cybersecurity, and sustainability in space. India announced a Debris Free Space Mission initiative last year and plans to ensure debris-free space missions by 2030.

To accelerate and advance efforts to mitigate and remove space debris, states must feel incentivised to adopt rules to that effect. Moreover, a mechanism whereby states are required to share technical expertise on mitigation would help ensure that the best practice is followed across the board.

Is it time for a new focus on international cooperation on space debris between spacefaring nations to find a common workable solution? Not a new international treaty, but cooperation which each state should then transpose into their own national law and potentially allow private companies in addition to states to raise concerns about actions that may conflict with such cooperation.

This would require the establishment of a body to report such actions to. One possibility may be to extend the international collaboration and cooperation remit of the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (which is an intergovernmental forum that focuses on the issue of space debris) to review concerns raised by such companies and states.

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In addition, Active Debris Removal (ADR) technologies are fundamental to solving the issue of space debris. This involves cleaning up space by using capture and removal operations to remove objects from Earth’s orbit. It usually involves nets, harpoons, or robotic arms. The ESA is working on such a project called ClearSpace-1. Its mission is to send a four-armed space claw to capture a satellite before safely deorbiting it back to Earth. Astroscale is a private space debris removal company that has launched two such missions (ELSA-d and ADRAS-J) to remove debris using magnets.

These are very exciting and promising initiatives which should encourage others to follow suit. Due to the expensive nature of the missions, it would be beneficial to have an international initiative to clean up as much space debris as possible.

As the number of space missions continues to rapidly grow, states are recognising the dangers that space debris poses to both Earth’s environment and the viability of the missions themselves. It is imperative for states to co-operate and work together on creating and enforcing binding agreements to ensure that everyone can benefit from space without causing harm.

Exciting new technologies such as ADR should be a source of collaboration between states and the public and private sector to find the best way to solve the problem of space debris, but states and private companies themselves also need to be held to account and not rely on the likes of Astroscale cleaning up their “junk”.