Insight – Understanding Space Sustainability
Thursday, February 20, 2025
By Krystal Azelton, Senior Director, Program Planning, Secure World Foundation
The mission of the Secure World Foundation (SWF) is to work with governments, industry, international organizations, and civil society to develop and promote ideas and actions to achieve the secure, sustainable, and peaceful uses of outer space benefiting Earth and all its peoples. But what is space sustainability, why does it matter, and how can new actors and others become familiar with the core principles, practices, and challenges faced today for space activity? SWF recently released a publication and had its release event to try to help answer these questions.
Space sustainability refers to addressing challenges to the safety and long-term viability of space activities collectively to ensure that the space environment remains suitable for exploration and use by the current and future generations of all countries. This broad view of space sustainability takes note of the fact that civil, military, and commercial space activities provide direct and indirect benefits on Earth. Accordingly, all actors must work together to ensure that the environment remains safe, secure, peaceful, and usable in the long term.
More than 11,400 active satellites currently orbit the Earth, providing tangible social, scientific, security, and economic benefits to billions of individuals all over the globe. Yet the ability to provide these important benefits from outer space is now threatened by a number of challenges. The Earth’s orbital space environment constitutes a finite resource that is being used by an increasing number of space actors. The proliferation of space debris, the emergence of a large number of new space actors, the rapidly increasing number of operational satellites in orbit, and the increasing variety and complexity of space operations pose increased risks of collision and interference with the operation of satellites and crewed space vehicles. In addition, as more countries integrate space into their national military capabilities and rely on space-based information and services for their national security, there is an increased chance that any interference with satellites could escalate tensions and conflict– in space or on Earth.
In fall 2024, Secure World Foundation published the 2nd edition of one of its core resources, the Handbook for New Actors in Space, to help provide a baseline of knowledge for taking action on space sustainability challenges. Designed to provide government officials, commercial actors, academics, and other space actors with a broad overview of the fundamental principles, laws, norms, and best practices for peaceful, safe, and responsible activities in space, the Handbook is an essential guide for organizations and individuals interested in the rapidly evolving space environment. Space is a domain beyond national jurisdiction, but which borders all nations on Earth. Regardless of whether one is a commercial actor, an academic actor, or a state actor, it is important to have a basic knowledge and understanding of how space activities are governed and regulated at national and international levels. It is also important to be cognizant of norms and best practices for safe and sustainable space operations.
As in the first edition of the Handbook, this updated second edition is structured in three chapters. Though meant to complement each other for a broad understanding of the entire scope of concern to new actors, certain chapters and sections will be of heightened interest to readers depending on their own expected space activity and the role that they will be playing in that activity. All content in the Handbook has been updated to be timely with new sections to address major changes in the space arena since 2017.
This version is also more interactive and online-friendly with user-friendly formatting and links to outside resources for further information on specific topics.
Chapter One deals with the international legal and political order applicable to space activities, and gives an introduction to the most important and relevant topics in international space law and how they apply to states. This chapter also includes new sections on: the UN COPUOS Guidelines for the Long-Term Sustainability of Outer Space Activities (LTS Guidelines); the UN Online Index of Objects Launched Into Outer Space; Wassenaar Arrangement; Missile Technology Control Regime; Hague Code of Conduct Against Ballistic Missile Proliferation; Dark and Quiet Skies; and the future of international space governance.
Chapter Two discusses how national space policy and national regulation apply to space, beginning with rationales for developing space policy and discussing, in particular, how to broadcast goals internationally and give guidance domestically. The chapter also includes an overview of the common aspects of national space legislation. In addition to an extensive revision of existing sections, there are new case studies on lunar governance initiatives, collaboration between governments and industry, and New Zealand’s Space Regulatory and Sustainability Platform.
Chapter Three addresses responsible space operations and provides an overview of the process from pre-launch frequency selections and coordination to payload review, launch services agreements between launch providers and operators, and mission and post-mission concerns. More technical than Chapters One or Two, this final chapter explores the operational side of space activities. New sections have been added covering the following topics: orbital carrying capacity; potential atmospheric effects from launches and re-entries; sustainable practices for cislunar space and lunar surface operations; in-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing; and commercial human spaceflight safety. New case studies include: SpaceX Starbase 95, voluntary best practices for space safety and sustainability, and Starlink satellite loss due to space weather.
Despite the rapid pace of development since the publication of the first edition of the Handbook, the basic fundamentals of space governance and safe and sustainable space operations haven’t changed all that much since the first edition’s release in 2017. What has changed is that the space arena is becoming much more crowded and complex, with many new actors entering from other domains. These new actors bring with them a wealth of expertise into the space arena, but they may lack knowledge of the basic “rules of the road” for space actors. Secure World Foundation hopes that this Handbook will provide a helpful introduction to space governance and the safe and sustainable conduct of space activities for those new actors making their first forays into the space arena.
With a focus on providing the knowledge, tools, and networks for emerging nations to successfully and sustainably enter the space race, SWF, in partnership with the Meridian International Center, hosted, “Celestial Navigation: Space Essentials for New Actors,” on January 24, 2025. This event bore out the importance of space sustainability for all actors and highlighted major considerations from new state actors ranging from the need to invest in the future, the importance of public-private partnerships, the need to balance innovation with security and other concerns, and the need for international cooperation. Most importantly, the fact that space sustainability underpins all of these tasks. Marta Mager, Minister Counselor, Space, Science & Innovation, New Zealand Space Agency made this point when she said, “We had the advantage in 2017 when we set up the regulatory regime to really make sure that from the beginning, we made sustainability a core element of our regulatory regime.”
SWF welcomes your feedback on the current edition of the Handbook, including comments on the existing content, as well as topics and ideas for future versions. As with the first edition, SWF is seeking translation partners to bring this key resource to even wider audiences.
The Handbook is available in multiple formats:
Secure World Foundation staff will also have physical copies available at key space events throughout the year. For bulk orders or educational discounts, please contact us.
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