Who’s Liable When Space Junk Strikes: The Legal Quandary of Falling Debris?

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

A 1,000-pound metallic ring descended from the heavens and impacted a Kenyan village this week. According to the Kenya Space Agency, it was a component of a rocket utilized for launching items into orbit. Fortunately, there were no injuries or reported damages, yet concerns are rising regarding the multitude of satellites, rocket remnants, and other debris in space that could potentially fall back to Earth. Marlon Sorge serves as the executive director of the Aerospace Corporation’s Center for Orbital and Reentry Debris Studies. Good morning, Marlon.

MARLON SORGE: Good morning, Leila.

FADEL: This is astonishing to me, that remnants from space plummeted to Earth and struck a village. How frequent is this occurrence?

SORGE: Decent-sized objects re-entering the atmosphere occur every few days, typically, but the likelihood of them actually striking someone is exceedingly low.

FADEL: Alright. So people need not be concerned that while walking, they might suddenly be struck by debris from space?

SORGE: No, absolutely not. You are significantly more likely to be struck by lightning than by this. To our knowledge, no one has ever lost their life due to something plummeting from space.

FADEL: Now, you collaborate with the federal government to monitor objects in orbit. How many objects are under your observation?

SORGE: Currently, the Space Force is tracking approximately 40,000 objects in orbit. These are items measuring 10 centimeters – 2.5 inches – or larger in the low orbits. However, there are estimated to be between half a million and a million smaller objects that are still perilous. If they were to collide with your satellite, it would certainly be problematic. Additionally, there are over 100 million objects that are even smaller than that.

FADEL: Now, there’s an ongoing legal case regarding a piece of space debris that struck a residence in Florida. Who is accountable in such situations?

SORGE: This is actually covered in the Outer Space Treaty established by the U.N. in 1967, which states that the nation that launches an object is responsible for it. They maintain ownership of it even after it ceases to operate and falls back to Earth. A clear instance of this occurred in the late 1970s when the Soviet satellite Cosmos 254 crashed in Canada. It contained radioactive materials. Although the Canadians managed the cleanup, the Soviet Union was, in principle, responsible for covering the costs.

FADEL: You mentioned the low probability of being hit by something falling from above. What measures are in place to safeguard against debris causing harm to individuals or property?

SORGE: Many satellite operators are highly vigilant about ensuring that their satellites disintegrate upon reentry. Certainly, the U.S. government, with their upper stages—the large vehicles used to launch items—frequently performs what is known as a controlled reentry. They intentionally direct it to land in the middle of the ocean, where there are no inhabitants, to mitigate any potential risks.

FADEL: Marlon Sorge is the executive director of the Aerospace Corporation’s Center for Orbital and Reentry Debris Studies. Thank you for joining the program.

SORGE: Thanks.

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