Space Connect: Can operators safely sustain the space boom?

Activities on Earth, from Internet connections to weather monitoring, depend increasingly on satellite networks. With space-based activities growing rapidly, sustainable orbital practices have become critical.

Each new satellite launch adds to the congestion in Earth’s orbits, raising risks of overcrowded flight paths, accidental collisions, and build-up of space debris.

“How you’d like to use the space domain is often different than the practice with which you really use it,” noted Thomas González Roberts, the first Academic in Residence at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), who moderated ITU’s latest Space Connect webinar discussion.

Regulators, operators and researchers, recognizing these rising challenges, are grappling with how to keep space operations viable for generations to come.

Expert panellists explored the intersection of space safety, security, and sustainability – all issues sure to shape global space governance and future satellite operations.

The next Space Connect episode considers how space assets can boost humanitarian operations.

What does safety mean in space?

Satellites need to operate in reliable conditions, without disruption or harm.

“Safety focuses a lot on the day‑to‑day operations of satellite activities and ensuring continuity of these economic services and operations,” explained Xiao-Shan Yap, Assistant Professor at Utrecht University in the Netherlands.

Security refers, more proactively, to protecting satellites and space-based infrastructure against accidental malfunctions, as well as against malicious threats like cyberattacks and “spoofing” with fake radio signals to convey misleading instructions.

These are factors no space operator can ignore.

“Safety, security and sustainability are linked,” added P.M. Soundar Rajan, Group Director at India’s Defence Avionics Research Establishment. “If you are not safe, you’re not sustainable.”

But they can involve different time horizons.

While space operators may recognize safety and security incidents immediately, sustainability considerations are more likely to extend far beyond a current mission.

Measure, understand and act

Emmanuelle David, Executive Director of the EPFL Space Center at the Swiss Federal Technology Institute of Lausanne, said space sustainability must be approached in a “holistic manner.”

Lifecycle analysis on each mission could help to understand the impact of the space industry on the Earth and space environment, she said.

Key stages include craft design, production, transport and launch, which can heavily impact layers of the atmosphere. So can the eventual burning of space objects on re-entry.

Space sustainability experts need to look at long-term “population control” for space objects to avoid cascading collisions. Active debris removal – over timeframes of years, decades, even a century – could also shape long-term space viability for the better, David suggested.

Beyond regulatory requirements, tools like the Space Sustainability Rating and research from the European Space Debris Conference can help operators plan better future missions.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) offers several online space toolkits, creating the go-to online portal for any space stakeholder.

Notably, the Space Sustainability Gateway consolidates:

• The latest strategies for post-mission spacecraft deorbiting.
• Guidelines and best practices from space agencies, satellite operators, governments and industry associations.
• Online resources on the space environment.
• Satellite catalogues.
• Space radio monitoring facilities.
• International regulatory instruments.

Shared responsibility

ITU, which coordinates the use of radio frequencies and satellite orbits, has made space sustainability a high priority.

Two key conference decisions in recent years, ITU-R Resolution 74 and ITU Resolution 218, commit the organization to finding sustainable long-term solutions for space usage.

ITU – as a United Nations agency with members spanning the globe – recognizes space as an inherently shared environment. The organization’s latest World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-23) helped boost access for all countries to non-geostationary satellite orbits.

“ITU members are now explicitly mandating the organization to help build a sustainable space environment through evolving regulation,” noted panel moderator González Roberts, who alongside his new ITU residency is also Assistant Professor of International Affairs and Aerospace Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology (U.S.).

As space sustainability becomes a formal, shared responsibility, the international system also needs to track it more closely, he added.

“ITU is a great resource for data describing the mission plans for states around the world: how they would like to use the space domain, and how they actually use it.”

Resilient space infrastructure

Sometimes, space security and sustainability can seem at odds – until they come together in the concept of resilience.

“We need more resilient space systems, including shielding, so that your spacecraft can sustain impact from objects,” David said. “Because you will have more debris.”

Cyberattacks are another threat, she added.

“Space assets are not very safe in terms of cybersecurity, and there is a huge effort to be done. And I think we’re all learning a lot.”

Oversight agencies for design certification and subsequent inspections can ensure countries build capable space infrastructure, Rajan added, drawing on India’s experience.

According to Yap, sustainability is a social and political construct that necessitates international discussions to define responsible behaviour.

While everyone needs to balance competing priorities, adhering to strict environmental safeguards could strengthen space operations in the long run, Yap added.

 “Achieving sustainability, even though it is not legally binding, is something that legitimizes their activities when the sustainability debate is getting more intense,” she said. “They should see this as something more than just the economic transaction kind of value, but a broader value in terms of legitimizing or gaining social licenses for conducting space activities in a responsible and sustainable manner.”

Future episodes

Replay Space Connect Episode 5: Space Safety: Protecting the Future of Space Operations.

ITU’s webinar series will keep exploring critical topics like space capabilities, advances in launch technologies, and more about sustainability.

Don’t miss Space Connect Episode 6 – Space for Humanitarian Emergencies: Leveraging Satellite Technology for Crisis Response – live on 26 June 2025 at 14:30 CEST

Other upcoming topics include space data, Earth observation and humanitarian response, as well as direct-to-device (D2D), machine-to-machine (M2M) and cislunar (Earth-Moon) communications.

Tell us your top three areas of interest for future Space Connect sessions

The sessions, hosted at ITU headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, for participants worldwide, offer insights on how evolving space operations will shape future global connectivity and communications.

Learn more about the ITU Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R) and its Space Services Department

Header image credit: Adobe Stock