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 
Island after the Jan. 16 breakup. The rocket breakups 
in January and earlier this month caused 414 departure delays for aircraft and 80 diversions or holds for planes 
already aloft https://www.expressnews.com/business/article/spacex-starship-explosions-flights-delayed-costs-20221722.php
The Center for Space Environmentalism (CSE) has launched!
CSE is a group of scholars and experts who inform and advocate for issues pertaining to the protection of the increasingly crowded space environment. It is intended in part to counter the prevailing narrative about the 'inevitable' commercial development and exploitation of outer space. We welcome dialog and interaction with anyone interested in these topics.
I am proud to participate in this effort with my colleagues @salvabara, @planet4589, @sundogplanets and others.
Follow us on Mastodon: https://mastodon.social/@space_environmentalism
And visit our website: https://www.spaceenvironmentalism.org/
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
Climate change is heating Earth but cooling space, shrinking the atmosphere. Result? Satellites stay in orbit longer, collision risks skyrocket. By 2100, orbital capacity could drop 82%—threatening GPS and remote work internet #ClimateChange #SpaceDebris #DigitalNomads
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 
But he is an #idiot so I'm not surprised.
2019 #ESA is "working to #automate the process of collision avoidance" https://www.cnet.com/science/esa-spacex-starlink-satellite-nearly-collides-with-european-aeolus-satellite
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 
require compatibility of different #automated systems" https://esamultimedia.esa.int/docs/spacesafety/Zero_Debris_Technical_Booklet.pdf 
Active #satellites 
must perform an increasing 
number of #collision avoidance manoeuvres to dodge out of the way of other satellites and fragments of #SpaceDebris. Another factor is the high level of solar 
activity which can often cause increased atmospheric drag. If we extrapolate current trends into the future, catastrophic collision numbers could rise significantly https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Space_Debris/ESA_Space_Environment_Report_2024
Cutting staff from the #SpaceTraffic program, which currently alerts #satellite operators of potential collisions with debris or other spacecraft, complicates a years-long effort to migrate those alerting 
duties out of the Pentagon. A #collision notice is an alert that a satellite could collide with another object in space.
"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
The generation of whistler, lower hybrid, and magnetosonic waves by satellites passing through ionospheric magnetic field aligned irregularities: https://pubs.aip.org/aip/pop/article/32/1/012103/3329644/The-generation-of-whistler-lower-hybrid-and -> UAF scientist designing satellite to hunt small #SpaceDebris: https://www.gi.alaska.edu/news/uaf-scientist-designing-satellite-hunt-small-space-debris
SpaceX’s Starlink satellites are supposed to burn up in the atmosphere… except when they don’t. Because who needs just climate change when we can have falling space junk too? #Starlink #SpaceDebris https://uk.pcmag.com/networking/156884/spacex-actually-dying-starlink-satellites-dont-always-fully-burn-up
“Eventually someone’s going to get killed by a piece of #SpaceDebris.There are plenty of cases of people’s property being hit by space debris”. The threat of getting hit by uncontrolled orbital #reentries has increased by a factor of four from 2010 to 2023 https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2025/01/30/falling-space-debris-seismometers
In which SpaceX acknowledges its responsibility for the Falcon 9 #SpaceDebris falling onto Poland this week, says it "is working closely with the government of Poland on recovery and cleanup efforts" and explains why the controlled deorbiting of the rocket's upper stage had failed and how rare such an incident is: https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=sl-11-4 (amended).
#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
