Trashing the Solar System One Planet at a Time: Earth's Orbital Debris Problem
![handle is hein.journals/gintenlr20 and id is 3 raw text is:
ARTICLES
Trashing the Solar System One Planet at a Time:
Earth's Orbital Debris Problem
MICHAEL W. TAYLOR*
I. INTRODUCTION
Humans are littering outer space1 with debris at an astonishing rate. In just the
first two months of 2007, the number of space objects orbiting the Earth increased
by an estimated 32%.2 The orbit surrounding our planet is becoming the junkyard
of the solar system.
For fifty years, people have launched rockets into space, in orbit around Earth,
and beyond. The remains of derelict satellites and rockets and the debris resulting
from their explosions and collisions with one another constitute a significant
fraction of the objects in space-far larger in number and mass than operational
spacecraft. These derelict objects, usually called space debris or orbital debris,
pollute the space environment by their mere presence. Since at least the late
1980s, scientists and legal commentators have been calling for states and the
international community to take action to prevent the creation of new debris.
This article reviews those efforts, with special emphasis on recent events and
focusing only on artificial space debris in orbit around Earth. Artificial debris is
* Major Michael W. Taylor, USAF, B.A., Berry College; J.D., University of Georgia; LL.M. (Air and Space Law),
McGill University, is the Chief of the Space and International Law Division at Headquarters United States Air Force
Space Command at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He is a member of the State Bar of Georgia.
© 2007, Michael W. Taylor. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official
policy or position of the United States Air Force, Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government.
1. The terms outer space and space are used interchangeably in this article.
2. At the beginning of 2007, approximately 10,000 space objects were catalogued of which at least 7000
were debris. Monthly Number of Cataloged Objects in Earth Orbit by Object Type, ORBITAL DEBRIs Q. NEws,
(NASA Orbital Debris Program Off., Houston, TX), Jan. 2007, at 8, available at http://www.orbitaldebris.jsc.
nasa.gov/newsletter/pdfs/ODQNvllil.pdf [hereinafter Cataloged Objects]. The number of tracked debris
increased by about 2200 as the result of China's test of an anti-satellite weapon in January 2007. NASA Orbital
Debris Program Office, Detection of Debris from Chinese ASAT Test Increases; One Minor Fragmentation
Event in Second Quarter of 2007, ORBITAL DEBRIs Q. NEWS, Jul.2007, at 1, http://www.orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov/
newsletter/pdfs/ODQNvl 1i3.pdf; Space-Track, http://www.space-track.org, at Satellite Situation Report [here-
inafter Space-Track] (account required for access). The amount of debris also increased by approximately 1000
as the result of an accidental explosion in February 2007. Ker Than, Rocket Explodes Over Australia, Showers
Space With Debris, Space.com, Feb. 21, 2007, http://www.space.com/news/070221_rocket-explodes.html.](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/gintenlr20&div=4&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
What Is HeinOnline?
Contact us for annual subscription options:
Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?
profiles profiles most
Trashing the Solar System One Planet at a Time: Earth's Orbital Debris Problem
Contact us for annual subscription options:
Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?
profiles profiles most