The usable space around Earth is a finite resource with benefits that should be shared by all. Preserving the vital advantages of space for national prosperity and security, defense, communications, public safety, broadcasting, weather forecasting, navigation, and much more requires facilitating the growth of a healthy space economy and environment that intelligently leverages space’s finite resources while also allowing for innovation now and into the future. If space is overconsumed by a few, the adverse consequences such as the loss of competition and innovation, increased in-orbit collisions, and the resulting debris — as well as sky, atmospheric, and ocean pollution — will affect us all for generations.
Why space sustainability matters to Viasat
As a satellite company, we recognize the importance of maintaining a safe and sustainable environment in space for generations to come. We believe that everyone should be able to access orbital and spectrum resources on an equitable basis — and harness those resources to create meaningful benefits in the areas of communication, broadcasting, weather forecasting, navigation, Earth and space exploration, defense, national security, scientific research, and commerce. But we also know that the portions of space nearest Earth are fragile and finite resources, and that these vital benefits to humankind are not a given, instead they are at risk due to the overconsumption of those orbital and spectrum resources by only a few commercial actors.
For the world to realize the full potential of space, we must act now so that those orbital and spectrum resources remain available to all on an equitable basis — including by ensuring that we do not reach an inflection point driven by excessive consumption by a few that renders space inaccessible to all for generations and causes adverse impacts on the environment.
While risks to space safety and sustainability persist, we’ll continue to responsibly sound the alarm; call for quantitative studies and tools to evaluate the consequences of how we are populating space; and most importantly, champion sustainability- focused innovation that is spurred by the adoption of admittance controls and regulatory measures. Such an approach would facilitate safe and sustainable outcomes that support the ability of all nations to prosper from innovative uses of space.
Addressing space sustainability while we still can
Although plastic was invented in the late 19th century, it wasn’t until 1960 that the world learned about its environmental impacts, a fact we were reminded of during our recent Viasat Beyond: Space competition focused on space sustainability.
The use of plastics has since become one of the world’s most pressing environmental issues, with its production and consumption overwhelming the world’s ability to safely dispose of it — leading to plastic waste in our oceans and collecting in our environment. Add to that Earth.org’s estimated 100,000 marine animal deaths each year caused by plastics and the adverse health impacts on humans.
Yet as our Viasat Beyond: Space competition winner pointed out: Even though we knew 60 years ago about the threat posed by plastics, we ignored the problem, the use of plastics soared, and we are now struggling with the aftermath. The same is true of the Earth’s current carbon situation. Had we known decades ago that our coal, oil, and gas usage would spur climate change, we may have learned to live within safe carbon emission limits, instead of trying to fix the problem after it reached a global crisis point.
Just like with plastic and carbon, time is running out to protect the fragile space environment and ensure that it remains available to all on an equitable basis — before our future generations wonder, ”Why didn’t you preserve space for us while you had the chance?” The time is now to measure what’s happening in space and manage the risk of harm before it’s too late.
Learn more about Viasat’s commitment to Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) in our recent 2024 Impact report ESG | Viasat