The Australian Government is backing a plan being put forward by the European Union, which calls for a international code of conduct for outer space activities. The code will aim to prevent both accidental and deliberate damage to satellites and other space objects, which creates long-lived debris and poses risks for crucial space-based infrastructure.
The Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Kevin Rudd commented that “Everything from aircraft and ship navigation, to electronic commerce, communications, climate monitoring and disaster management, not to mention many of our defence systems, all rely on satellites,”.
Minister Rudd added that the situation is made more urgent by the fact that several countries are developing weapons systems designed to destroy satellites.
The NASA orbital debris program office estimates that approximately 19,000 objects larger than 10 cm are known to exist. The estimated population of particles between 1 and 10 cm in diameter is approximately 500,000.