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Tightening international regulations

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The United States and Russian space agencies had to address orbital debris issues from very early on, mainly for their human spaceflight programmes.
Anti-debris test device installed on the international space station. Credits: Nasa

Anti-debris test device installed on the international space station. Credits: Nasa

To ensure crew safety, all potential risks had to be evaluated, particularly space debris—a fact confirmed by the impacts regularly observed on reusable spacecraft on their return to Earth.


Awareness of the debris problem led to the formation of an interagency committee in 1993, called the IADC1.
Its aims are to encourage cooperation and exchange between members, and above all to define common orbital debris mitigation measures.



In 2002, the IADC released a document2 expressing the consensus between its 11 member agencies, which now serves as the basis for all other regulatory documents concerning space debris.

For example, European space agencies have established a code of conduct that is now applicable to all CNES projects.
More broadly, debris issues have also been taken up at the United Nations by the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS). Guidelines for mitigating space debris were published in 2007 and approved by the United Nations General Assembly.



  		 
Awareness of debris mitigation requirements leads to the establishment of guidelines and then regulations.
But these must be translated into standards to be easily applicable by manufacturers and operators.
This is the role of organizations like ECSS3 in Europe and international bodies like ISO4.
1 Inter Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee
2 Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines
3 European Cooperation on Space Standardization
4 International Organization for Standardization
 

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