FAA Proposes Rules To Reduce Waste In Space

Screenshot of debris in Earth orbit recorded by NASA (photo: Rana/VOI)

JAKARTA - The United States Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) wants to reduce the current burden of waste in space by proposing new regulations.

This proposal contains a time limiting rule for high-level private rockets to be in orbit. The proposed regulation, which is still being drafted, was released by the FAA on Wednesday, September 20.

"Restricting the growth of new orbital debris and reducing the potential for collisions with spacecraft and satellites to encourage a sustainable space environment," the FAA wrote, quoted bySpace.

This proposed regulation will provide five disposal options at the top stage, a rocket part to deploy payloads. This regulation is addressed to commercial launch operators.

Some of the options the FAA provides include re-entry in a controlled manner, moving the upper stage to a less congested storage area or orbit grave, sending the upper stage further into space, taking the top stages within five years, and dismantling uncontrolled atmospheres.

The rules proposed by the FAA are expected to help reduce waste in space considering that Earth's orbit is getting denser. The reason is, in July 2023, the number of objects measuring 10 centimeters or even larger is estimated at 23,000.

Debris in Earth orbit is predicted to reach one and a half million objects with a size of between 1 to 10 centimeters. Meanwhile, objects measuring more than 1 millimeter are estimated to amount to more than 100 million.