During my childhood in 1969, we were inspired to build little cardboard #rockets to fly to the moon. Our protoype's flight lasted only the length of one jump. We would never have thought of spending all our pocket money on it, celebrating these seconds as a success, or polluting the environment under the applause of Bavarian politicians.
After a false start, we had to clean up every last shred and realised that we had screwed up. Afterwards, we preferred to watch ants on Earth.
"With over 34,000 large debris pieces in orbit and millions of smaller fragments, the threat of collisions and the #KesslerSyndrome looms large. International cooperation, stringent regulations, and technological solutions are proposed to address the crisis, emphasizing the need for a comprehensive global framework to ensure #SpaceSustainability for future generations."
https://intpolicydigest.org/the-platform/space-has-become-a-trash-dump-and-that-s-a-problem/
Astrospace interview with Tim Flohrer, head of the European Space Agency's Space Debris Office: "What is actually making our job more difficult today compared to a few years ago, is the rapid increase of active satellites. ... The effort we have to put today in this coordination activities is enormous, and rapidly increasing. And the complexity of the process results also in increased collision risks."
"With the rapid expansion of commercial space flight, thousands of satellites are being launched each year. Yet few owners have plans to remove them from orbit in a controlled way. Everyone, everywhere — on Earth’s surface, flying in aeroplanes, as well as in space — is increasingly at risk from these projectiles. Space-faring nations and companies must urgently address this threat."
The #FAA said debris hit one vehicle on the ground in South Caicos 
Klimawandel beeinflusst Weltraumsicherheit 
Three pieces by @Nature today on dark and quiet skies.
A news feature looking at the state of solutions for satellite constellations:
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00792-y
A related Editorial:
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00788-8
And a Comment piece by two experts on the risk of space debris hitting the ground:
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00797-7
Steigende #Treibhausgase könnten das #Weltraummüll-Problem verschärfen.
Laut einer neuen Studie verlangsamt sich der Abbau von #Satelliten in niedriger #Erdumlaufbahn, was das Risiko unkontrollierbarer #Kollisionen erhöht.
Bis 2100 könnte die Kapazität für neue #Satelliten um bis zu 82 % sinken. Forscher warnen vor dem Kessler Syndrom (Schneeballeffekt durch Kollisionen).
Wird Elon vermutlich nicht interessieren, oder?
@arstechnica Evedently #Elmo has decided to work exclusively on the "Break Things" phase of innovation 
15/01/2025 "Improve #SpaceTraffic surveillance and coordination" still on the #ToDo list https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Technological_to-do_list_to_reach_Zero_Debris_created ... "This will 
Active #satellites 
Cutting staff from the #SpaceTraffic program, which currently alerts #satellite 
"We are not talking a few dozen per year. We are talking tens of thousands" https://www.reuters.com/technology/space/trump-layoffs-hit-key-air-traffic-control-space-unit-2025-03-01
“Eventually someone’s going to get killed 
#BlueOrigin rocket’s nose cone washed up on the shore of a #Bahamian island. In #Europe, flaming debris from a #SpaceX launch vehicle streaked across the #German sky, and what appears to be a fuel tank may have landed on a company’s property in #Poland.
And that’s just this week. https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/21/science/blue-origin-spacex-debris-bahamas-europe/index.html
There is a general consensus that more ambitious actions are urgently needed from all space stakeholders to minimise the unintentional release of debris; to avoid the #intentional release of debris; to anticipate and mitigate the impact of debris on human populations, infrastructure, and Earth’s #environment https://esamultimedia.esa.int/docs/spacesafety/Zero_Debris_Technical_Booklet.pdf
#SpaceJunk 
There are no binding #international rules governing the management and prevention of the growth of debris in space 
The management of common pool resources depends crucially on the existence and effectiveness of the #rules and institutions to govern their use.
For #space activities, this translates into human activities potentially littering Earth’s orbits beyond sustainable limits, creating #SpaceDebris that could reduce the value of space activities by increasing the risk of damaging collisions
