The “Space Debris” Conference has concluded in the Saudi Capital Riyadh with several sessions focusing on “innovative solutions” that saw the participation of more than 260 experts, speakers, and a number of CEOs and leaders of the global space sector, who were engaged in discussions on the challenges of space debris and ways to address them.
Participants in a session titled, “Exploring New Horizons: Advances in Space Traffic Management”, discussed developments in space traffic management that contribute to achieving global goals that work on addressing space-related challenges.
Participants explained that the state of development in the field, represented by the launch of huge numbers of satellites, has made many countries active partners in the space field, putting them in a position of responsibility to address the challenges of the space environment and space debris, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
They also agreed that the continuous development that accompanied space traffic management technologies to address problems such as space debris, and its innovative technologies demonstrate the efforts made to preserve the safety of spacecraft and space stations from potential collisions, stressing the importance of expanding the base of partners in the field of space exploration and addressing its challenges, underlying the importance of this cooperation in bolstering joint efforts to deal with space challenges and achieve sustainability.
At the conclusion of the session, participants also stressed that space technologies will play an important role in enhancing environmental efforts and achieving sustainability, as they can be used in multiple fields such as climate monitoring and biomedical research, with expectations that continued space development will contribute to achieving sustainable goals on Planet Earth.
During another session titled, “Exploring Possibilities: Innovative Commercial Opportunities for Space Debris,” participants discussed progress in managing space movement and its positive impact on global goals designed to address space challenges, underlying the pivotal role of space technology in supporting these endeavors as recent developments in the field of space enhance efforts to reach a sustainable world in the future.
At the keynote speech, “Space Debris Today and Tomorrow’s Opportunities,” the co-founder and CEO of Axiom Space, Michael Suffredini, pointed out to the challenges of the space environment and the need to address the problems of debris, citing in this regard the model of the Kingdom, represented by the Saudi Space Agency, by organizing this conference, which sounded the alarm and offered solutions to address the problem of space debris, including drafting laws to regulate this field and increasing the level of awareness to understand and track cases of debris.
The closing session, “Shifting the Direction: Success Stories and Future Solutions to Address the Space Debris Challenge,” focused on the importance of addressing the space debris challenge and future solutions to this problem.
The Conference witnessed the signing of two Memoranda of Cooperation and Understanding, the first is with NorthStar which aims aim to strengthen cooperation in order to evaluate and explore various opportunities that may arise in the future, and exchange expertise and knowledge in the field of space situational awareness, and the other with LeoLabs which seeks to build a cooperative relationship in the field of space observation, and exchange relevant expertise and knowledge.
The Conference was organized by the Saudi Space Agency (SSA) in partnership with the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the Communications and Space Technology Commission.
