Is Littering in Outer Space a Crime?

Does international law allow polluting outer space? Space debris, or space junk, includes nonfunctional spacecraft, abandoned launch vehicle stages, and fragmentation debris. Space debris traveling at high speeds can damage spacecrafts or satellites. The U.S. Department of Defense tracks more than 27,000 pieces of space debris, and many more that are too small to be tracked may still be large enough to pose a danger. Space law expert Professor Frans von der Dunk explains what obligations there are, if any, requiring countries to track and dispose of space junk and current guidelines in some countries that may lead to the development of customary international law.

 

 

Frans von der Dunk is a professor of space law at the University of Nebraska College of Law and the Director of Black Holes, a consultancy company for space law and policy.