LOS ANGELES – The UK Space Agency has a direct message on space sustainability.
“We’re going to stop making it worse. And we’re going to start out making it higher,” Julie Black, UK Space Agency director of missions and capability for discovery and sustainability, said June 13 on the Secure World Foundation’s Space Sustainability Summit.
Toward that goal, the UK Space Agency is continuous to encourage and prioritize space sustainability, each domestically and internationally.
“A cross-agency space sustainability program is designed to mitigate the risks attributable to space debris and promote the responsible use of space through a mixture of regulation, standards development technology development, and national and international missions,” Black said.
Lively Debris Removal
For instance, the UK divisions of Japan-based Astroscale and Switzerland-based ClearSpace are conducting design studies for a UK mission in 2026 to deorbit a bit of UK space debris.
“Crucially, at the tip of that mission, the service that will likely be refuelable and will likely be able to be used again,” Black said.
In 2028 the UK plans to send a satellite to repair, replenish or refuel a UK spacecraft. And by the tip of the last decade, the UK intends “to have developed orbital assembly or manufacturing, where we’re using the spacecraft previously launched to remove debris or perform the servicing mission,” Black said.
Investing in corporations working to handle space sustainability through innovation is a UK Space Agency priority, Black said.
Space Surveillance and Tracking
For the primary time, the UK is establishing an area surveillance and tracking service for UK-licensed satellite operators. The service will warn operators of potential collisions in order that they can maneuver as vital.
International partnerships with the European Space Agency and global organizations will help the UK achieve its space sustainability goals, Black said.
The UK intends to “be a thought leader by championing change, but we just can’t do this alone,” Black said. “We’re here to work together as sustainability champions to take collective motion now, to mitigate the results reduce the burden on future generations and ultimately, to make sure the secure and responsible use of space.”