COPUOS Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines: Implementation Issues
- Paper number
IAC-08.A6.4.1
- Author
Mr. Douglas Aldworth, Canada
- Coauthor
Mr. Claudio Portelli, Italian Space Agency (ASI), Italy
- Coauthor
Dr. M.Y.S. Prasad, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), India
- Year
2008
- Abstract
Today's space systems provide growing benefits to enhance the quality of life for all humankind. However as a by-product, objects in orbit inevitably leave some debris in order to achieve their orbits, during operation, and after they have become outdated or redundant. Given the number of satellites that have been orbited over the 50 years of space activities, the growing numbers of debris represent a concern for all space agencies and manufacturers and operators. Up until last year no international agreement was in place to mitigate the growing population of space debris objects. The successful negotiations at the IADC and the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), and the subsequent approval of the UN General Assembly in 2007 now provides national governments, the space industry and the public with a set of voluntary international guidelines for the mitigation of space debris. If adopted by each space faring country these guidelines will contribute towards maintaining the present space environment. They can be found on the OOSA website. As the guidelines are voluntary in nature, further steps will be necessary in the future in order to define a legal and normative framework. Furthermore, because the guidelines address only the mitigation of space debris rather than an outright ban on its creation, further refinements will be necessary as new technological developments enable a focus on reduction of space debris. The paper will present the 7 UN Space Debris guidelines as well as examples of the minimum steps to be carried out at the national level in order to enable the UN COPUOS to deal with the legal aspects of the space debris issue. The paper will also briefly look at the wider implications of the new space debris mitigation guidelines as a possible template for achieving progress on other stalemated topics under the COPUOS purview."
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
(absent)