‘Space junk’ could hit Ugandans in future

If you ever wake up to the unsettling reality of World War III, it’s clear that the battlefield may extend far beyond our planet. In an era where advanced weapon systems are intricately linked to satellites, various factions would undoubtedly prioritise the destruction of their adversaries' orbital assets. We never encountered such a front in World War I or II. 

A stark reminder of this came in 2021, when Russia targeted a Soviet-era spy satellite named Cosmos 1408, launching a missile that shattered it into pieces. Remarkably, this action did not violate any existing laws, yet it left a treacherous cloud of debris swirling in the vastness of space—an ongoing threat to other satellites. 

Suspended several kilometres above Earth, there are approximately 5,000 pieces of man-made equipment orbiting at an astonishing speed of 17,000 miles per hour. Among them, the International Space Station gracefully circles the Earth 16 times a day, serving as a beacon of human achievement amidst a sea of potential peril. The ever-growing issue of space debris worsens with each passing moment; some fragments could be on a collision course back to our planet.

In December 2024, a startling incident occurred when a massive metal ring nearly 8 feet in diameter and weighing around 453 kilogrammes plummeted from the sky, landing abruptly in Mukuku village, located in eastern Makueni County, Kenya. Interestingly, this piece of space debris did not burn up completely as it fell through the atmosphere. 

Further, in 2011 the nosecone of a Soyuz rocket was found in Martinique, in 2013 several titanium tanks appeared in the garden of an electrician in Texas, and in September 2016 the second stage of a Falcon 9 rocket crushed into an out building on a small island near Java. It seems that really sometimes the sky does fall down. So far, nobody has been killed but it’s merely a question of time. While the dangers posed by space debris may seem distant to Ugandans, the reality is strikingly clear: the floating detritus in low Earth orbit poses a risk to anyone, regardless of their location.

Let’s engage in an intriguing thought experiment that moves beyond the realm of Einstein’s theories. Imagine an errant piece of American space debris tumbling through the cosmos unexpectedly colliding with your car, potentially resulting in catastrophic consequences, including loss of life. How would you seek legal recourse in such a perplexing scenario? Would a visit to the embassy be sufficient in hopes of obtaining some form of compensation?

Now, consider if the debris were a component from a SpaceX rocket streaking across the sky and crashing down. Would you think about pursuing legal action against Mr Elon Musk in a US court for damages? The unfortunate truth is that the current legal framework governing space activities, notably encapsulated in the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, falls woefully short of addressing such situations.

This treaty, often described as the Magna Carta of space law, establishes basic principles for the exploration and use of outer space. One of its most prominent tenets is the "due regard" principle, which stipulates that nations must conduct their space activities with consideration for the activities of others. However, this concept of due regard remains deeply ambiguous, leaving significant gaps in legal accountability and leaving individuals vulnerable in the face of extraordinary circumstances.

By 2030, 90 countries are expected to be operating in space, with an estimated 17000 satellites orbiting Earth, leading to increased congestion. NASA scientist Donald Kessler warned in 1978 that excessive space junk could trigger a chain reaction of collisions, rendering Earth’s orbit unusable.

To address this issue, the European Space Agency is launching a space clean-up mission in 2025, akin to a tow truck for dead satellites. This process involves careful alignment and deorbiting of these satellites, which culminates in them burning up in the atmosphere—an expensive approach that is not universally feasible. 

In England, the Surrey Space Centre is developing harpoon technology to capture debris. Meanwhile, South Africa's space agency has introduced MEDUSA, a small satellite designed to deploy tentacles to capture smaller debris and steer it either into the atmosphere or towards a graveyard orbit, though it specifically targets small objects.

Samuel Obedgiu is a biotechnologist and geo-politician. 
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