The 57^th meeting of the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of the United Nations Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) met in Vienna, Austria from February 3 – 14, 2020. COPUOS, a committee established by the General Assembly, governs the peaceful and secure exploration, development, and use of space. It is responsible for coordinating international cooperation and studying space related activities including legal problems arising from the exploration. The main topic of this meeting was the long-term sustainability of outer space activities.

The focus on the long-term sustainability of outer space activities, particularly on space debris, is especially relevant during recent times. As more private companies look to satellite mega-constellations (a term used to describe a network of satellites) as a solution to global telecommunications coverage, increasing the number of orbital objects that will accumulate in space seems inevitable. More global telecommunications coverage means additional high-speed Internet, consistent Wi-Fi, and cellular connections. However, as space becomes more congested, there are increased chances for satellite collisions, which can only add to the amount of space debris. In fact on September 2, 2019, the European Space Agency was forced to maneuver its “Aeolus” satellite to avoid a potential collision with one of SpaceX’s recently launched “Starlink” satellites.

Representatives from forty-eight countries, including the United States, participated in the discussion regarding space debris. The Scientific and Technical Subcommittee, as a whole, emphasized the importance of international cooperation in its quest for controlling and reducing space debris. Also, the subcommittee expressed concerns over large mega-constellations and emphasized the need to make space debris a topic of priority. In achieving the subcommittee’s goals, the Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (Mitigation Guidelines) continues to be an important source of guidance for space actors, States, and intergovernmental organizations as they implement space mitigation measures. However, some delegations also expressed the view that further developments of these guidelines would be necessary given the changing use of space and exploration of new ventures as well as new technologies. These Mitigation Guidelines are relatively new as they were agreed upon in 2018 and talks to already amend the guidelines are just a testament to the ever-changing reality of space law.