Milbank LLP Transportation and Space partner Alexis Sáinz will moderate the “Orbital Debris – An Increasingly Pressing Issue” panel at the Forum on Air and Space Law’s Washington Update Conference hosted by the American Bar Association on February 25, 2022.
In the years since Sputnik1 launched in 1957, thousands of satellites have been launched into space and currently more than 4,500 active satellites are in orbit. If planned satellite constellations proceed as proposed, more than 100,000 satellites could enter orbit in the years to come, resulting in increased risk to space systems from collisions and accidental explosions and associated orbital debris during and after completion of mission operations. Contributing to an already difficult operating environment for satellite operators is the recent space debris created by a Russian anti-satellite missile test. In the United States, Space Policy Directive-3 directed NASA, the Secretaries of State, Defense, Commerce and Transportation, the Director of National Intelligence and the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission to update the Orbital Debris Mitigation Standard Practice and establish new guidelines for satellite design and operation. Panelists will discuss the overall problem of orbital debris and related concerns for national administrations, operators, lenders and investors.
The conference, being held in Washington, DC, provides attendees with an insider’s perspective on the leading topics and policy issues in air and space law at the forefront in 2022 and beyond.
Click here for information on the Forum on Air and Space Law’s Washington Update Conference and click here to read prior editions of Milbank’s Space Business Review.
