A recent article in Space News made me think that it might be time for a reminder that U.S. regulatory agencies such as the Federal Aviation Administration, the Federal Communications Commission, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration all have orbital debris mitigation requirements for commercial launch and satellite operators.
According to Space News, a main concern “is the breakup of satellites and rocket bodies caused when batteries or propellant tanks explode.” This is true of objects launched long ago, but the FAA issued requirements for preventing exactly this last century, and the FCC and NOAA followed suit. The FAA’s regulations apply to rocket bodies left on orbit, and are still on the books even after the FAA’s streamlining of its regulations:
For any launch vehicle stage or component that reaches Earth orbit, a launch operator must prevent the creation of debris through the conversion of energy sources into energy that fragments the stage or component, in accordance with the requirements in § 450.171.
Section 450.171 itself requires:
(a) Orbital debris mitigation. An operator must ensure for any proposed launch that for all vehicle stages or components that reach Earth orbit –
(1) There is no unplanned physical contact between the vehicle or any of its components and the payload after payload separation;
(2) Debris generation does not result from the conversion of energy sources into energy that fragments the vehicle or its components. Energy sources include chemical, pressure, and kinetic energy; and
(3) For all vehicle stages or components that are left in orbit, stored energy is removed by depleting residual fuel and leaving all fuel line valves open, venting any pressurized system, leaving all batteries in a permanent discharge state, and removing any remaining source of stored energy.
Note that subparagraph (a)(3) requires a commercial launch operator to deplete all residual fuel and leave all fuel line valves open. This means that no propellants should remain on board causing the stage to break up–or to “fragment” as the FAA so delicately put it–on orbit. Likewise, an operator must leave its batteries in a discharge state.
In other words, this particular concern is already being addressed, and has been since 1999 for commercial launches.
Check the FCC and NOAA regulations for similar requirements for satellite operators.
And if you are in the mood for science fiction about orbital debris, check out Manx Prize.