Central university of south bihar

OUTER SPACE LAW

SPACE DEBRIS CONUNDRUM: LEGAL ISSUES
SURROUNDING IT’S REMEDIATION

Submitted By, Submitted To,

MD AMIR SOHAIL DR. KUMARI NITU

7th Sem BA.LLB (Hons.) Assstant Professor
CUSB2113125063 Department of Law
2022-2027 School of Law and Governance
INTRODUCTION

As we have seen in the recent Hollywood blockbuster science fiction film, Gravity, the
detonation of an old spy satellite launched by Russia causes a catastrophe to move towards
Sandra Bullock and George Clooney. The collision of the space debris or the space junk with
other space objects, or, the Kessler effect is a major risk faced by all satellite operators, owners
of space objects and astronauts. Although this chain reaction is not derived by an Oscar winning
Hollywood movie, but is definitely triggered by it! On the 10th of February, 2009, there was a
collision in the outer space for the first time, between Iridium 33, a US communications satellite
and Cosmos 2251, a decommissioned Russian satellite as these two objects passed over northern
Siberia. This collision caused two distinct clouds of shrapnel and debris to move beyond a
substantial lower part of Earth’s orbit. This is the first incident which made the public aware of
the rising issue of space debris and garnered the attention of media towards it. The European
Space Agency presently has two very old and uncontrolled satellites hovering around in the orbit
and are the subject of discussion of active debris removal. The satellites, namely, ERS and
Envisat, suffered major technical failures and since then, they have been drifting uncontrollably
in low Earth orbit. Since the launch of Sputnik I in 1957, Earth’s first artificial satellite, debris
left in the orbit in the form of uncontrollable man-made objects by past space missions has
degraded Earth’s orbital environment and potentially threatens future space programs and
functional satellites and other space assets . The man made debris in outer space now forms a
cloud around the Earth consisting of nonfunctional satellites, spent rocket boosters, nuts, bolts,
oxygen tanks and other litter, which increasingly clutters the space surrounding the earth.
Alarmingly, debris is being added to by some 120 new space launches a year world wide. The
shell of debris may also hamper or prevent certain space missions1. The high kinetic energy of
objects orbiting at speeds several times faster than the speediest rifle bullet make the impact of
even tiny debris fragments with functioning space equipment potentially catastrophic. The
damage caused by orbital debris depends on the velocity and mass of the debris fragments. Based

1
Christol, C.Q. 1982. The modern international law of outer space, at 20. New York : Pergamon Press.
on innumerable scientific analysis and the projections made by various technical models, the
only way to ensure secure and sustained access to and long term utilization of space debris
remediation in the form of active removal of debris and on-orbit satellite servicing.

LEGAL ISSUES OF SPACE DEBRIS

The Magna Carta of space law is the Outer Space treaty of 1967. In order to fall into the category
of space debris, the following elements must be present:

 A space object as defined by article 1(d) of the Liability Convention and article 1(b) of
the Registration Convention;
 That no longer performs its original function, is Earth-orbiting and has no reasonable
expectation of assuming or resuming its intended function and is re-entering the Earth’s
atmoshere
 May have economic value to a launching state
 May have historical value to a launching state
 May have continued national security value to a launching state

Going by this definition of space debris, the decommissioned Russian satellite, Cosmos 2251,
would therefore, be nothing but space debris2.

The Technical Report on Space Debris was published in 1999 as a product of the multi year
work plan 1996-98 of the Scientific and Technical (S&T) Subcommittee of the UNCOPUOS. It
reports the following definition proposed at the 32nd session of the S&T Subcommittee for the
sake of a common understanding of the term ‘space debris’.

“Space debris are all manmade objects, including their fragments and parts, whether their owners
can be identified or not, in-earth orbit or re-entering the dense layers of the atmosphere that re
non functional with no reasonable expectation of their being able to assume or resume their
intended functions or any other functions for which they are or can be authorized.”

It adopted the following work plan:

2
Sen, A. 2016. Charging of Space Debris and Their Dynamical Consequences. Gandhinager : Institute of Plasma
Research.
 1. 1996: Measurements of space debris, understanding of data and effects of the
environment on space systems;
2. 1997: Modelling of space debris environment and risk assessment;
3. 1998: Space debris mitigation measures.

On 8th April 2012, ESA got drifted from Envisat, the largest non military earth observations
satellite in orbit. It is currently drifting unregulated and uncontrolled in a sun- synchronous polar
orbit and is being tracked by the U.S. Joint Space Operations Centre. Based on the size of its
orbit and area-to-mass ratio, it is estimated that it will take 150 years for it to decay naturally
through atmospheric drag. There is a also a probability of collision with other orbital debris in
this duration. Interestingly, in this particular case, the question which arises is that whether
Envisat can be qualified as ‘space debris’. Though t is drifting uncontrollably and is no longer
maneuverable due to loss of communications, it is otherwise an intact satellite. If technological
development allows to re-establish communications with it, then it can be re-commissioned back
to service as ‘space object’ and would stop being treated as ‘space debris’.

INTERNATIONAL RESPONSIBILITY: OUTER SPACE TREATY

The prime question of responsibility over space objects as raised in lex specialis, first in the 1963
Declaration of Legal Principles and then in the 1967 Outer Space Treaty3. The fact that is highly
commendable is that all spacefaring States have so far ratified the Treaty which indicates that
some of the provisions of the Outer Space Treaty have crystallized into customary International
Law.

The involvement of private entities in the transactions of outer space and the attribution of the
responsibility on the private enterprises if anything in outer space goes wrong was the major
bone of contention and raised huge controversial issues between the United States and the
erstwhile Soviet Union while deciding a particular international legal regime related to outer
space laws and space debris. Article VI of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty focuses on the following
obligations imposed on States:

3
Robinson, T. 2014, Space Debris: The Legal Issues, Royal Aeronautical Society. See
https://www.aerosociety.com/news/space-debris-the-legal-issues/
 (i) To bear responsibility for national activities in outer space regardless of whether such
activities are carried out by public or private entities
(ii) to assure that national activities are conducted in conformity with the Outer Space
Treaty through Article III
(iii) to authorize and supervise, wherever appropriate, the activities of non governmental
entities in outer space

It can be well inferred from Article VII of the Outer Space Treaty that the remediation of the
space debris might be done by a third party but that does not mean that the launching state loses
all responsibility towards its space object and the damage caused by it. International law does
not vehemently imposes any duty on any state to not cause any damage to another state’s space
objects, but it is a given that all states should observe a standard of care or due diligence in
performance of its activities, it is implicit.4

The existing framework of international outer space law does not authorize any kind of
intervention with space objects without the prior consent of the launching state. If any space
object is removed without taking the consent of the launching state, it would amount to an
international wrongful act.

The consent of the State remains valid as long as it is given freely, explicitly and without any
influence of error, fraud, corruption or coercion.

Article VIII of the Outer Space Treaty has been very clear regarding the ownership of the space
object causing nuisance in the outer space, the principle of ownership is a permanent one and
once the launching State has launched the space object, the responsibility of its functioning as
well as non functioning in which case it would be rendered as defunct would also be attributed
to the launching State.

4
Chatterjee, J., 2014, Legal Issues Relating to Unauthorized Space Debris Remediation. McGill University, Institute
of Air and Space.
 Article VII is also significant in this regard which is elaborated in the Liability Convention,
1972. The liability regime is two-fold depending on where the damage has occurred.
1. If the damage is caused on the surface of the Earth or to aircraft in flight, the simple proof
of casualty is sufficient, regardless of proving fault.
2. If the damage is caused to the space object of another State in outer space, the fault of the
entity for whom the launching State is responsible must be proven.

CURRENT SCENARIO

The following are the international bodies and existing guidelines for handling space debris:
1. Inter Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC)
2. UN Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines
3. In the 2011 session of the Legal Subcommittee of COPUOS, the delegation of the Czech
Republic presented a working paper calling for the Subcommittee to elaborate binding space
debris mitigation principles for adoption
4. European Code of Conduct for Space Debris Mitigation
5. The ESA Space Debris Mitigation Handbook 20075

Earth-based tracking devices are compatible to work efficiently in outer space. But they can
track the space junk having sizes only up to 10 cm. These devices cannot track the particles
which are smaller than 10 cm. In general, fault liability presumes that a standard of care and due
diligence exists against which the reasonableness of the defendant’s actions can be judged6.

Currently, only voluntary, non-binding standards and guidelines apply to the operation of space
objects and mitigation and remediation of space debris such as those of the Inter-Agency Space

5
Klinkrad, H. and Johnson, N.L. 2009. “Space Debris Environment Remediation Concepts”.
6
Listner, M. Aug 6, 2012, Legal Issues Surrounding Space Debris Remediation. The Space Review.
 Debris Coordination Committee, the UN, The International Organization (ISO) and the
International Telecommunication Union (ITU). But there are no mandatory international
standards of conduct regarding debris mitigation and remediation to establish a standard of care
and due diligence against which fault of the launching state can be assessed7.

The current approach of the COPUOS impedes the S&T research due to the lack of a legal
definition of “space debris” and the negotiating challenges that would attend adoption of one.
As a result, the practical and legal status of the majority of large space objects is officially
unknown.

At the 1999 Vienna Conference designated UNISPACE III, space debris was discussed on
several occasions. Resolution 1, entitled “The Space Millennium: Vienna Declaration on Space
and Human Development”, declared in paragraph 1(c)(ii) that action should be taken to improve
the protection of the near Earth space and outer space environments through further research in
and implementation of mitigation measures for space debris.

The issue of space debris is not at present adequately addressed by the Legal Subcommittee,
which is tasked with drafting rules to control this risk. As a starting point, the Legal
Subcommittee should endorse the guidelines that have already been drafted by the IADC and
later develop binding regulations. This uncontrolled growth of space debris could dangerously
damage and curb the future use of outer space and thus is contrary to the universal interest in
outer space8.

CONCLUSION
From the above discussion, it can be concluded that public international law jurisprudence, if
studied intricately, can help resolve the problems arising outer space debris and the principles of
public international law can be used to address the loopholes in the legal fabric of international
space law. The next step would be the international community taking up a unilateral step
towards proactively encouraging responsible space behavior to expedite organizational and
operational aspects of space debris remediation. Without internationally coordinated efforts,

7
Zhukov, G.P. and Kolosov, I.M. 1984. International space law. New York: Praeger Publishers.
8
Fawcett, J.E.S. 1984. Outer Space: New Challenges to law and policy, at 109. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
people could eventually be unable to use the space environment for national security reasons,
Earth observations (including financial transactions, the internet, telecommunications, data
transfer and television), navigation, scientific exploration or economic progress. Space
development must safeguard humanity so that it can avoid negative consequences of the use of
outer space for peaceful resolutions and socio-economic advantage for every single country, not
just advanced developed nations, both in the present and the future generations, thereby
maintaining inter generational equity. After all, we are all in this together!