{"id":167285,"date":"2021-01-31T11:00:01","date_gmt":"2021-01-31T08:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/satellites-orbiting-earth-are-increasing-like-crazy-how-do-we-prevent-them-from-crashing\/"},"modified":"2021-01-31T11:00:01","modified_gmt":"2021-01-31T08:00:01","slug":"satellites-orbiting-earth-are-increasing-like-crazy-how-do-we-prevent-them-from-crashing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/satellites-orbiting-earth-are-increasing-like-crazy-how-do-we-prevent-them-from-crashing\/","title":{"rendered":"#Satellites orbiting Earth are increasing like crazy \u2014 how do we prevent them from crashing?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a26e4d6992f0\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a26e4d6992f0\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/satellites-orbiting-earth-are-increasing-like-crazy-how-do-we-prevent-them-from-crashing\/#1_Definition\" >1. Definition<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/satellites-orbiting-earth-are-increasing-like-crazy-how-do-we-prevent-them-from-crashing\/#2_Congestion\" >2. Congestion<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/satellites-orbiting-earth-are-increasing-like-crazy-how-do-we-prevent-them-from-crashing\/#3_Radio_spectrum\" >3. Radio spectrum<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/satellites-orbiting-earth-are-increasing-like-crazy-how-do-we-prevent-them-from-crashing\/#4_Collision_avoidance_and_tracking\" >4. Collision avoidance and tracking<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/satellites-orbiting-earth-are-increasing-like-crazy-how-do-we-prevent-them-from-crashing\/#Way_forward\" >Way forward<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#Satellites orbiting Earth are increasing like crazy \u2014 how do we prevent them from crashing?<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n                            In recent years, satellites have become smaller, cheaper, and easier to make with commercial off the shelf parts. Some even weigh as little as <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/content\/what-are-smallsats-and-cubesats\">one gram<\/a>. This means more people can afford to send them into orbit. Now, satellite operators have started launching mega-constellations \u2013 groups of hundreds or even thousands of small satellites working together \u2013 into orbit around Earth.<\/p>\n<p>Instead of one large satellite, groups of small satellites can provide coverage of the entire planet at once. Civil, military, and private operators are increasingly using constellations to create global and continuous coverage of the Earth. Constellations can provide a variety of functions, including climate monitoring, disaster management, or digital connectivity, like satellite broadband.<\/p>\n<p>But to provide coverage of the entire planet with small satellites requires a lot of them. On top of this, they have to orbit close to Earth\u2019s surface to reduce interruption of coverage and communication delays. This means they take up an already busy area of space called low Earth orbit,\u00a0space 100 to 2,000\u00a0km above the Earth\u2019s surface.<\/p>\n<p>There are many issues associated with introducing this many satellites into orbit, from the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/space-junk-astronomers-worry-as-private-companies-push-ahead-with-satellite-launches-137572\">dangers of space junk<\/a> to <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/spacexs-starlink-satellites-are-about-to-ruin-stargazing-for-everyone-149516\">obstructing our view<\/a> of the night sky. But the shift toward mega-constellations is also a challenge for global space governance.<\/p>\n<p>There are <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ucsusa.org\/resources\/satellite-database\">almost 3,000 active satellites<\/a> in orbit around Earth today, and this is set <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/well-soon-have-ten-times-more-satellites-in-orbit-heres-what-that-means-100487\">to skyrocket<\/a> in the coming years. The European Commission, for example, recently <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/commission\/commissioners\/2019-2024\/breton\/announcements\/speech-commissioner-thierry-breton-13th-european-space-conference_en\">announced plans<\/a> to launch thousands of satellites into orbit around Earth, adding to a growing list of planned mega-constellations launches.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"align-center \">\n<figure class=\"post-image post-mediaBleed aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px\" alt=\"60 Starlink satellites stacked together before deployment.\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" class=\" lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/380687\/original\/file-20210126-15-1gymsan.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip\" data-lazy=\"true\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/380687\/original\/file-20210126-15-1gymsan.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=338&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/380687\/original\/file-20210126-15-1gymsan.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=338&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/380687\/original\/file-20210126-15-1gymsan.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=338&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/380687\/original\/file-20210126-15-1gymsan.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=424&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/380687\/original\/file-20210126-15-1gymsan.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=424&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/380687\/original\/file-20210126-15-1gymsan.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=424&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w\"\/><figcaption><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/space\/2021\/01\/31\/satellites-orbiting-earth-are-increasing-like-crazy-how-do-we-prevent-them-from-crashing-syndication\/#\" data-url=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fthenextweb.com%2Fspace%2F2021%2F01%2F31%2Fsatellites-orbiting-earth-are-increasing-like-crazy-how-do-we-prevent-them-from-crashing-syndication%2F&amp;via=thenextweb&amp;related=thenextweb&amp;text=Check out this picture on: Starlink is the biggest mega-constellation so far. Starlink Mission, CC BY\" data-title=\"Share Starlink is the biggest mega-constellation so far. Starlink Mission, CC BY on Twitter\" data-width=\"685\" data-height=\"500\" class=\"post-image-share popitup\" title=\"Share Starlink is the biggest mega-constellation so far. Starlink Mission, CC BY on Twitter\"><i class=\"icon icon--inline icon--twitter--dark\"\/><\/a>Starlink is the biggest mega-constellation so far. <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Starlink_Mission_(47926144123).jpg\">Starlink Mission<\/a>, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>As companies and governments around the world continue to pursue mega-constellations, it is critical that the governance framework is able to support the rise in activity. There are a number of important problems that need to be considered.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"1_Definition\"><\/span>1. Definition<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Satellites are regulated at the national level and through licensing, guided by the principles of the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/the-outer-space-treaty-has-been-remarkably-successful-but-is-it-fit-for-the-modern-age-71381\">Outer Space Treaty of 1967<\/a>. Though the terms constellation or mega-constellation are not found in the treaty, they are considered space objects, like all other satellites.<\/p>\n<p>As procedures and regulations vary from country to country, the challenge is how to govern mega-constellations without creating legal fragmentation. It is imperative that the topic is discussed at the international level.<\/p>\n<p>Yet currently, there is no legally binding definition for a satellite constellation, nor for the newer term mega-constellation. Exactly how many satellites make up a mega-constellation is unknown, and each country could consider the term to mean something different. Clarity at the international level could pave the way for creating guidelines specifically for mega-constellations, which could aid the safe and sustainable use of low Earth orbit.<\/p>\n<p><em>[Read:\u00a0<span dir=\"auto\">How this company leveraged AI to become the Netflix of Finland<\/span>]<\/em><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"2_Congestion\"><\/span>2. Congestion<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Most satellites in low Earth orbit are operating between 600 and 800\u00a0km above sea level. This is considered a congested area, as there are lots of satellites there already. Small satellites have shorter lifespans than the larger satellites, which typically orbit above low Earth orbit.<\/p>\n<p>However, it can still take up to about 150 years for satellites to be removed, by re-entering the atmosphere and burning up, if they are about 750\u00a0km above sea level. Some are removed purposefully, through controlled re-entry, and others are designed to fall in an uncontrolled way. Satellite and mega-constellations operators must consider ways of reducing the debris caused by these satellites above and beyond the usual procedure, in order to maintain\u00a0sustainable use of low Earth orbit.<\/p>\n<p>Given the number of future mega-constellations currently planned, the space around Earth termed low Earth orbit could easily become a limited resource.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"3_Radio_spectrum\"><\/span>3. Radio spectrum<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>This is not only true when it comes to physical space, but also radio use. To communicate, satellites use the radio spectrum. With the increase in mega-constellations, there is a danger of operators \u201cwarehousing\u201d radio frequencies, stockpiling them before they actually need them.<\/p>\n<p>To prevent this, a United Nations specialized agency for satellite radio spectrum use has recently <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.itu.int\/en\/mediacentre\/Pages\/2019-PR23.aspx\">updated its regulatory framework<\/a>, dealing with the issue separately from other space regulation. Mega-constellations will be put on a flexible timeline, only being granted use of the frequencies they need at the time.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"4_Collision_avoidance_and_tracking\"><\/span>4. Collision avoidance and tracking<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>If low Earth orbit becomes overcrowded with satellite and mega-constellations, avoiding collisions will become more difficult. In September 2019, the European Space Agency <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.esa.int\/Safety_Security\/ESA_spacecraft_dodges_large_constellation\">had to fire<\/a> the boosters on one of its satellites to get it out of the way of another satellite, otherwise the two would\u2019ve collided.<\/p>\n<p>As the orbit becomes more congested, there may be a\u00a0need for more collision avoidance maneuvers and better communication between satellite operators.<\/p>\n<p>There are national endeavors, predominately in the United States, for satellite tracking and collision avoidance maneuvering. A system alerts satellite operators to potential collision paths and allows for course corrections where possible.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Way_forward\"><\/span>Way forward<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Hopefully, mega-constellations will be discussed by <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unoosa.org\/oosa\/en\/ourwork\/copuos\/index.html#:%7E:text=The%20Committee%20on%20the%20Peaceful,for%20peace%2C%20security%20and%20development\">member states at the UN<\/a> as soon as they are able to do so. Though work in the committee can be slow and highly political, international guidelines along with national licensing procedures need to add considerations for mega-constellations.<\/p>\n<p>The benefits of constellations and mega-constellations in low Earth orbit for socio-economic and environmental purposes are great. Because of this, it looks likely that the numbers of constellations will increase in the near future. To make sure we avoid problems arising, the rules and definitions surrounding mega-constellations should be made clear, on an international scale.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;\" alt=\"The Conversation\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" class=\" lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/154014\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic\" data-lazy=\"true\"\/><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https:\/\/theconversation.com\/republishing-guidelines --><\/p>\n<p><em>This article by\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/lauren-napier-1201647\">Lauren Napier<\/a>, PhD Researcher in Space Law and Policy, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/northumbria-university-newcastle-821\">Northumbria University, Newcastle<\/a> is republished from <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\">The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/thousands-more-satellites-will-soon-orbit-earth-we-need-better-rules-to-prevent-space-crashes-154014\">original article<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/space\/2021\/01\/31\/satellites-orbiting-earth-are-increasing-like-crazy-how-do-we-prevent-them-from-crashing-syndication\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#Satellites orbiting Earth are increasing like crazy \u2014 how do we prevent them from crashing?&#8221; In recent years, satellites have become smaller, cheaper, and easier to make with commercial off the shelf parts. Some even weigh as little as one gram. This means more people can afford to send them into orbit. Now, satellite operators&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":167286,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image\/tnw?filter_last=1&fit=1280,640&url=https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/01\/1-copy-65.jpg&signature=47f3d4403c6a261478b2498c0fd99458","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[71834,91512,87158,5019,67821],"class_list":["post-167285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-collision","tag-low-earth-orbit","tag-orbit","tag-space","tag-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=167285"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167285\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/167286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=167285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=167285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=167285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}