The government of U.S is taking up legal measures to put a limit on the amount of space junk. Space junk is the cloud of debris, which is still orbiting the Earth. This debris has formed after more than six decades of space races, various rocket launches, planetary missions, and advanced satellites.
The Federal Communications Commission imposed a five-year lifetime for new satellites after they complete their mission. Within this time, the satellites will have to deorbit and burn themselves in the Earth’s atmosphere.
Previously, the guidelines held a 25-year lifetime. However, it was never enforced legally.
It is to be noted that this now applies only to the satellites launched by U.S operators.
This single effort is not going to change the existing conditions on its own but will turn out to be a good start.
Carolin Frueh, a space debris expert and an associate professor of aeronautic and astronautic engineering at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana said, “It’s about establishing rules for space and having a legal framework that people have to adhere to.” She further added that it is a big step.
Although there might be just about 5000 active satellites in the Earth’s orbital space, according to estimates there exists millions of pieces of space junk that circle our planets. This gathers up from entire stages of rockets to broken fragments of orbital collisions.
