U.S. interagency panel will revise R&D strategy to deal with orbital debris

Posted by Kapil on November 17th, 2021

Dealing of the Interagency Group

WASHINGTON, D.C. – An interagency group inside the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) will supervise the orbital debris R&D program. It is concerned with issues of national security and space exploration.

The revamped strategy will build on the Trump administration’s existing R&D plan on orbital debris, which was presented in January 2021. It is impossible to “advance a shared national strategy for orbital debris risk management” due to a lack of collaboration among US departments and agencies, according to the text.

• The Department of Defense collects debris data, tracks debris, and notifies operators of possible collisions.
• NASA uses radars, telescopes, and in situ measurements to statistically sample debris too small to be tracked but still large enough to threaten human spaceflight and robotic missions
• NASA also led the development of the U.S. Government (ODMSP) Orbital Debris Mitigation Standard Practices
• The Federal Aviation Administration, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Federal Communications Commission all have policies or regulations intended to limit the creation or accumulation of debris