ACTIVE SPACE DEBRIS REMOVAL, AN INDISPENSABLE MECHANISM FOR LONG TERM SUSTAINABILITY OF SPACE OVERCOMING CONCERNS OF SPACE DEBRIS

摘要

When the Russians launched sputnik 1 out into the vastness of space in 1957, no one would have thought that space could ever get crowded. But with the advent of the space race, the strong will of political powers at the time, the growing need to improve communication and to learn more about the universe ensured that by 2013, more than 9000 artificial objects orbited round the earth. The resulting orbital debris due to the loss of communication with the satellite and other factors that rendered them useless is extremely dangerous for active satellites because of the high probability of collision with this debris. The objective of this paper is to recognize and briefly analyze some legal challenges and their potential solutions. This paper also focuses on the most promising methods for minimizing hazards caused by orbital debris from technical, economic and legal perspectives. Debris mitigation is insufficient to reduce the orbital debris population, therefore active removal of space debris is imperative for ensuring safety of the orbital environment. The most promising solutions to the space debris problem are recognized and examined in the paper.