Space Junk Needs Systemic Fixes — Reuse, Repair and Recycle in Orbit

Not everything launched into orbit comes back to Earth. Instead, an expanding cloud of debris — from defunct satellites to tiny paint flakes and lost hardware — now threatens spacecraft, astronauts and global communications. This week, researchers at the University of Surrey published a paper calling for an industry-wide, systems-level approach: reduce material use, design for repair and end-of-life, and recycle what we can.

Why This Matters

NASA counts more than 25,000 objects larger than four inches in orbit; when smaller fragments are included the total exceeds 100 million items. A 2022 NASA estimate places the combined mass of orbital debris at roughly 10,000 tons. Two major collisions in 2007 and 2009 produced enough fragments to now account for over one third of catalogued debris.

Debris has already damaged high-profile missions: in 1983 fragments left bullet-like pits in the Space Shuttle Challenger's windshield during Sally Ride's first flight, and the Hubble Space Telescope has been struck multiple times. Experts warn the Kessler Syndrome — a cascade of collisions that could render low-Earth orbit unusable — is a real risk. A 2023 study in Space Policy estimated unchecked debris could reduce global GDP by about 1.95% through impacts to satellites and communications infrastructure.

What the University of Surrey Proposes

The Surrey team recommends moving beyond isolated technological fixes toward coordinated, sector-wide change. Key measures include:

• Designing satellites to use less material, be serviceable, refuelable or intentionally de-orbited at end-of-life.
• Coordinating existing technologies — for example, AI collision-avoidance systems — with new capabilities like on-orbit repair and recycling platforms.
• Repurposing orbital infrastructure (such as space stations or dedicated platforms) to repair, refurbish or recycle defunct hardware rather than letting it become more debris.
• Aligning commercial incentives, policy, and standards so operators factor end-of-life stewardship into initial design and mission planning.

“People must have systems thinking,” said Jin Xuan, associate dean of research and innovation at the University of Surrey. “When you focus on individual technologies, you’ll miss the opportunities.”

Existing Efforts And Limits

There are promising technical steps: SpaceX’s reusable rocket stages reduce new debris from launches, and companies such as Astroscale are developing robotic capture systems to remove dead satellites. But isolated solutions face limits without legal and commercial frameworks that let cleanup and recycling scale up.

Legal And Political Barriers

The Outer Space Treaty and related rules complicate cleanup because launched objects remain the property of their original owner. That ownership principle was designed to prevent interference between nations, but it also makes cross-border salvage or recycling difficult: you generally need permission from the object’s owner before you touch it. At the same time, states have obligations to avoid contaminating space, a principle that could be read as a duty to address the debris they create.

These legal tensions raise real operational challenges. Technologies that can service or de-orbit objects — such as robotic arms — could also be misused, so states are cautious about permitting others to operate near their assets. During tests, Astroscale constrained experiments to UK-launched objects to avoid ownership complications.

What Needs To Happen Next

Solving the orbital-debris problem requires three linked changes: technical innovation, commercial incentives, and legal reform. Practical steps include harmonized design standards, clearer liability and permission regimes for servicing and recycling, economic mechanisms that reward long-term stewardship, and international agreements that balance security concerns with environmental responsibility in orbit.

Without systemic change — combining design-for-reuse, AI-driven collision avoidance, on-orbit repair and recycling platforms, and legal clarity — the cloud of debris will continue to grow and endanger the satellites and services modern life depends on.