Space Debris NPRM Seen Starting Considerations of Thorny Problems

It's unsettled whether the proposed rules for non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellites will be sufficient on space junk because there's no precedent of managing and regulating mega constellations of commercial satellites, said Secure World Foundation Director-Program Planning Brian Weeden. The draft NPRM is "certainly asking the right questions" about issues like risk of collision, maneuverability requirements and measuring reliability, he said.

"We are at a turning point in the history of space development," said the draft NPRM and order on reconsideration. It recommends requiring disclosure of everything from debris generated by deployment from launch vehicle upper stages to certification that satellite operators will take every possible step to assess the danger of and mitigate a possible collision. It suggests changing rules about how satellite operators quantify orbital collision risks and would require an operator planning deployment above 650 kilometers specify why it chose that particular orbit; lower orbits generally mean satellites falling back to earth within 25 years.

The draft asks whether the agency should require all NGSOs above a certain altitude have propulsion capabilities regardless of whether propulsion is needed to deorbit within 25 years, and what that altitude should be. The recon order would deny a 2004 radio amateur satellite petition for recon of applying orbital debris mitigation requirements to amateur space services. The group didn't comment.

Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel -- who earlier this year said the agency should develop a comprehensive collision and debris policy (see 1803300014) -- said in a statement now the FCC "has taken steps to prepare for the proliferation of satellites in our higher altitudes [but] has done too little to slow down debris buildup." She's "pleased that my colleagues agree that a comprehensive policy is needed, and I hope we can move expeditiously to ensure that a realistic debris plan -- one with serious proposals to address this problem -- can be implemented soon.”

University of Mississippi National Center for Remote Sensing, Air and Space Law Associate Director Michelle Hanlon said questions in the NPRM about requiring active debris removal -- such as whether the agency formally should adopt requirements about post-mission disposal above low earth orbit -- are "really scary topics for satellite companies." She said it's a needed conversation.

More information can help ensure only operators with safe operations are licensed and that future operations have data needed to avoid orbital collisions, Blount said. New standards will at least start the process of determining what responsible satellite operators need to do to mitigate debris creation, with those standards also useful post-collision in helping determine if an operator was negligent, he said. More-established companies with significant investment in space likely will welcome these new disclosures, Blount said, though new entrant NGSO operators could see them as administrative burdens.

Major regulatory revisions are going on elsewhere in commercial space, from FAA launch licensing to NOAA remote sensing licensing, and it could be challenging for stretched companies to come up with positions around orbital debris issues, Weeden said. The NPRM "goes beyond the normal talking points," he said.

Orbital debris is of increased concern globally but particularly pressing for nations with the most at stake in space, like the U.S., said Frans von der Dunk, Nebraska College of Law space law professor. International coordination is needed, but countries haven't been able to reach a binding accord on debris, though the U.S. helped push guidelines that many space agencies agreed on, he said. Proposed NGSO mega constellations ratchet up orbital debris concerns not only because of the big numbers involved but business plans that emphasize use of cheaper, smaller satellites possibly at the expense of maneuverability and safety, von der Dunk said.

One regulatory problem comes with the FCC asking satellite operators questions they can't know the answer to, said University of Texas-Austin Associate Professor Moriba Jah. He cited the requirement they demonstrate they won't collide with large objects when the Air Force's Joint Space Operations Center that tracks orbital objects doesn't make available all that data, such as location of classified satellite. He said that commercial space is somewhat hampered by a lack of openness and transparency on objects in space and that a means for making data openly accessible worldwide is needed. "People are inching" toward that common data set, he said, noting UT's FAA-funded AstriaGraph that aggregates DOD, Russian, U.K. and commercial space data into one location. That common data set has problems, too, such as sometimes-notable disagreements among the various data sources a particular object's location in space, he said.