Space Debris Increasingly Threatens Satellites
April 23, 2025
If the growing buildup of space debris is not controlled, government and private companies will be unable to safely operate satellites for communication, navigation, and research, the European Space Agency predicts. Compounding matters, as Marilyn Harbert and Asha Balakrishnan write in Issues, the United States—a top source of space debris—lacks adequate policies to minimize its creation or remove it from orbit. They call on Congress and the presidential-level National Space Council to establish clear lines of authority for launching a new regulatory framework for space activities that would include mitigating orbital debris.