By 
June 15th, 2023
Image credit: Johan Swanepoel/Adobe Stock via RAND
The time for a global solution to space traffic management is now!
That’s the bottom line of a new RAND think tank research brief that warns if space leaders do not begin the work of establishing an international space traffic management organization (ISTMO) soon, “there is a significant chance that the world will lose key portions of its orbital resources — reducing space’s overall value to humanity.”
Led by RAND’s Bruce McClintock, the document explains that starting the work of establishing an ISTMO now might help reduce the possibility of future conflict in space.
“Rather than wait for a crisis to catalyze action, the space community should seize the moment and begin the work of building the governance structures needed to ensure the safety and sustainability of critical space assets, services, and activities,” the RAND briefing report observes.
By acting now, this will enable the international community to develop solutions for protecting and preserving space today and in the future.
Taking it in the Era
The RAND document observes that the “New Space Era” has brought significant advancements in security, connectivity, prosperity, and collective action.
“But this growth comes with substantial and increasingly urgent challenges,” the document states.
“Along with the expanding number of space objects and activities, new types of near-Earth operations, such as megaconstellations of satellites, space tourism, on-orbit servicing and manufacturing, space tugs, active debris removal, and just-in-time and artificial intelligence–driven collision avoidance maneuvers, have complicated the space domain, resulting in an orbital environment that is substantially more congested and risky.”
Chunk of junk zips by the International Space Station.
Image credit: NASA
The research brief observes that the goal should be an international space traffic management convention within the next five years that sets specific milestones for implementation within the next ten years.
To read the report — The Time for International Space Traffic Management Is Now – go to:
Posted in Space News
