UK Minister George Freeman for Science, Research, and Innovation recently launched a new plan for space sustainability with the hope of improving the UK’s use of space. 

He launched this plan at the 4th Summit for Space Sustainability hosted by the Secure World Foundation and the UK Space Agency. He detailed his hopes for the UK to be a leader in space sustainability and how the UK plans to translate its ambition for sustainability here on Earth to ambition in space. As described by Freeman, “today I am announcing our Plan for Space Sustainability, a package of announcements which demonstrates the UK’s commitment to using our regulatory leadership. This plan will ensure a safe and sustainable commercial space sector which rewards responsible satellite programs by lowering the costs of launch licenses and insurance for sustainable satellites and space missions.”

He also announced the plan to establish a new Space Sustainability Standard that aims at persuading companies to adopt the minimization of their footprint in space and honor and recognize the companies that do so. Freeman described that “to harness space for sustainability, we need an agreed framework of standards for measuring and managing debris, improving satellite repair and retrieval and kite-marking genuinely sustainable supply chains.”

This new Space Sustainability Standard will also make the UK an ideal place to invest in sustainability therefore promoting the growth of the sustainable space sector as well.

As stated by Minister George Freeman, there will be a “huge increase in commercial satellite launches…in the next 10 years” and “a ‘Wild West’ space race without effective regulation risks a growing crisis of debris in space, adding to the existing threat from 400 redundant satellites and a million pieces of debris.” The space race has already begun which is why implementing new sustainable standards now is necessary to combat the issues already in effect. The UK government believes that the increase of space debris is both environmentally and commercially unsustainable; this issue needs to be taken care of quickly and for future projects we must minimize our footprint through recyclable manufacturing, retrieval of satellites, and the mitigation of space debris. Space sustainability will be an ever growing conversation as our technologies for space and space travel advance, and promoting sustainability on Earth and beyond Earth is what the future entails.