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Natalie Panek: Let's clean up the space junk orbiting Earth
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Our lives depend on a world we can't see: the satellite infrastructure we use every day for information, entertainment, communication and so much more. But Earth orbit isn't a limitless resource, and the problem of space debris will get worse without a significant change to our behavior. Natalie Panek challenges us to consider the environmental impact of the satellites we rely on. Our orbital environment is breathtakingly beautiful and our gateway to exploration, she says. It's up to us to keep it that way.
Natalie Panek - Rocket scientist, explorer
Natalie Panek's work is focused on the idea that accountability for our environments never goes away. Full bio
Natalie Panek's work is focused on the idea that accountability for our environments never goes away. Full bio
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Our lives depend
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on a world we can't see.
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Think about your week so far.
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Have you watched TV, used GPS,
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checked the weather or even ate a meal?
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These many things
that enable our daily lives
that enable our daily lives
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rely either directly or indirectly
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on satellites.
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And while we often take for granted
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the services that satellites provide us,
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the satellites themselves
deserve our attention
deserve our attention
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as they are leaving a lasting mark
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on the space they occupy.
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People around the world
rely on satellite infrastructure every day
rely on satellite infrastructure every day
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for information, entertainment
and to communicate.
and to communicate.
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There's agricultural
and environmental monitoring,
and environmental monitoring,
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Internet connectivity, navigation.
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Satellites even play a role
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in the operation of our financial
and energy markets.
and energy markets.
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But these satellites that we rely on
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day in and day out
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have a finite life.
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They might run out of propellant,
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they could malfunction,
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or they may just naturally
reach the end of their mission life.
reach the end of their mission life.
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At this point, these satellites
effectively become space junk,
effectively become space junk,
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cluttering the orbital environment.
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So imagine you're driving down the highway
on a beautiful, sunny day
on a beautiful, sunny day
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out running errands.
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You've got your music cranked,
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your windows rolled down,
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with the cool breeze
blowing through your hair.
blowing through your hair.
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Feels nice, right?
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Everything is going smoothly
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until suddenly
your car stutters and stalls
your car stutters and stalls
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right in the middle of the highway.
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So now you have no choice
but to abandon your car
but to abandon your car
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where it is on the highway.
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Maybe you were lucky enough
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to be able to move it out of the way
and into a shoulder lane
and into a shoulder lane
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so that it's out of the way
of other traffic.
of other traffic.
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A couple of hours ago,
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your car was a useful machine
that you relied on in your everyday life.
that you relied on in your everyday life.
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Now, it's a useless hunk of metal
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taking up space in a valuable
transportation network.
transportation network.
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And imagine international roadways
all cluttered with broken down vehicles
all cluttered with broken down vehicles
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that are just getting in the way
of other traffic.
of other traffic.
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And imagine the debris
that would be strewn everywhere
that would be strewn everywhere
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if a collision actually happened,
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thousands of smaller pieces of debris
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becoming new obstacles.
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This is the paradigm
of the satellite industry.
of the satellite industry.
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Satellites that are no longer working
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are often left to deorbit
over many, many years,
over many, many years,
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or only moved out of the way
as a temporary solution.
as a temporary solution.
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And there are no
international laws in space
international laws in space
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to enforce us to clean up after ourselves.
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So the world's first satellite, Sputnik I,
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was launched in 1957,
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and in that year, there were
only a total of three launch attempts.
only a total of three launch attempts.
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Decades later and dozens of countries
from all around the world
from all around the world
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have launched thousands
of more satellites into orbit,
of more satellites into orbit,
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and the frequency of launches
is only going to increase in the future,
is only going to increase in the future,
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especially if you consider
things like the possibility
things like the possibility
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of 900-plus satellite
constellations being launched.
constellations being launched.
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Now, we send satellites
to different orbits
to different orbits
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depending on what they're needed for.
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One of the most common places
we send satellites
we send satellites
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is the low Earth orbit,
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possibly to image the surface of Earth
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at up to about 2,000 kilometers altitude.
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Satellites there are naturally buffeted
by Earth's atmosphere,
by Earth's atmosphere,
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so their orbits naturally decay,
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and they'll eventually burn up,
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probably within a couple of decades.
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Another common place we send satellites
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is the geostationary orbit
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at about 35,000 kilometers altitude.
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Satellites there remain in the same place
above Earth as the Earth rotates,
above Earth as the Earth rotates,
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which enables things like communications
or television broadcast, for example.
or television broadcast, for example.
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Satellites in high orbits like these
could remain there for centuries.
could remain there for centuries.
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And then there's the orbit
coined "the graveyard,"
coined "the graveyard,"
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the ominous junk or disposal orbits,
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where some satellites
are intentionally placed
are intentionally placed
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at the end of their life
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so that they're out of the way
of common operational orbits.
of common operational orbits.
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Of the nearly 7,000 satellites
launched since the late 1950s,
launched since the late 1950s,
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only about one in seven
is currently operational,
is currently operational,
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and in addition to the satellites
that are no longer working,
that are no longer working,
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there's also hundreds of thousands
of marble-sized debris
of marble-sized debris
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and millions of paint chip-sized debris
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that are also orbiting around the Earth.
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Space debris is a major risk
to space missions,
to space missions,
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but also to the satellites
that we rely on each and every day.
that we rely on each and every day.
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Now, because space debris and junk
has become increasingly worrisome,
has become increasingly worrisome,
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there have been some national
and international efforts
and international efforts
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to develop technical standards
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to help us limit the generation
of additional debris.
of additional debris.
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So for example, there are recommendations
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for those low-Earth orbiting spacecraft
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to be made to deorbit in under 25 years,
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but that's still a really long time,
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especially if a satellite
hasn't been working for years.
hasn't been working for years.
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There's also mandates
for those dead geostationary spacecraft
for those dead geostationary spacecraft
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to be moved into a graveyard orbit.
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But neither of these guidelines
is binding under international law,
is binding under international law,
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and the understanding is that they will be
implemented through national mechanisms.
implemented through national mechanisms.
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These guidelines are also not long-term,
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they're not proactive,
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nor do they address
the debris that's already up there.
the debris that's already up there.
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They're only in place
to limit the future creation of debris.
to limit the future creation of debris.
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Space junk is no one's responsibility.
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Now, Mount Everest is actually
an interesting comparison
an interesting comparison
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of a new approach to how
we interact with our environments,
we interact with our environments,
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as it's often given the dubious honor
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of being the world's highest garbage dump.
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Decades after the first conquest
of the world's highest peak,
of the world's highest peak,
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tons of rubbish left behind by climbers
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has started to raise concern,
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and you may have read in the news
that there's speculation
that there's speculation
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that Nepal will crack down on mountaineers
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with stricter enforcement
of penalties and legal obligations.
of penalties and legal obligations.
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The goal, of course,
is to persuade climbers
is to persuade climbers
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to clean up after themselves,
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so maybe local not-for-profits will pay
climbers who bring down extra waste,
climbers who bring down extra waste,
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or expeditions might organize
voluntary cleanup trips.
voluntary cleanup trips.
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And yet still many climbers feel
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that independent groups
should police themselves.
should police themselves.
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There's no simple or easy answer,
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and even well-intentioned
efforts at conservation
efforts at conservation
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often run into problems.
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But that doesn't mean
we shouldn't do everything in our power
we shouldn't do everything in our power
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to protect the environments
that we rely and depend on,
that we rely and depend on,
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and like Everest, the remote location
and inadequate infrastructure
and inadequate infrastructure
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of the orbital environment
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make waste disposal a challenging problem.
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But we simply cannot reach new heights
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and create an even higher garbage dump,
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one that's out of this world.
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The reality of space
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is that if a component
on a satellite breaks down,
on a satellite breaks down,
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there really are limited
opportunities for repairs,
opportunities for repairs,
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and only at great cost.
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But what if we were smarter
about how we designed satellites?
about how we designed satellites?
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What if all satellites,
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regardless of what country
they were built in,
they were built in,
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had to be standardized in some way
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for recycling, servicing
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or active deorbiting?
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What if there actually were
international laws with teeth
international laws with teeth
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that enforced end-of-life
disposal of satellites
disposal of satellites
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instead of moving them out of the way
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as a temporary solution?
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Or maybe satellite manufacturers
need to be charged a deposit
need to be charged a deposit
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to even launch a satellite into orbit,
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and that deposit would only be returned
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if the satellite was disposed of properly
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or if they cleaned up
some quota of debris.
some quota of debris.
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Or maybe a satellite
needs to have technology on board
needs to have technology on board
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to help accelerate deorbit.
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There are some encouraging signs.
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The UK's TechDemoSat-1,
launched in 2014, for example,
launched in 2014, for example,
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was designed for end-of-life disposal
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via a small drag sail.
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This works for the satellite
because it's small,
because it's small,
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but satellites that are higher
or in larger orbits
or in larger orbits
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or are larger altogether,
like the size of school buses,
like the size of school buses,
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will require other disposal options.
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So maybe you get into things
like high-powered lasers
like high-powered lasers
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or tugging using nets or tethers,
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as crazy as those sound in the short term.
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And then one really cool possibility
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is the idea of orbital tow trucks
or space mechanics.
or space mechanics.
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Imagine if a robotic arm
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on some sort of space tow truck
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could fix the broken components
on a satellite,
on a satellite,
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making them usable again.
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Or what if that very same robotic arm
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could refuel the propellant tank
on a spacecraft
on a spacecraft
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that relies on chemical propulsion
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just like you or I would refuel
the fuel tanks on our cars?
the fuel tanks on our cars?
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Robotic repair and maintenance
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could extend the lives of hundreds
of satellites orbiting around the Earth.
of satellites orbiting around the Earth.
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Whatever the disposal
or cleanup options we come up with,
or cleanup options we come up with,
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it's clearly not just a technical problem.
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There's also complex space laws
and politics that we have to sort out.
and politics that we have to sort out.
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Simply put, we haven't found a way
to use space sustainably yet.
to use space sustainably yet.
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Exploring, innovating
to change the way we live and work
to change the way we live and work
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are what we as humans do,
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and in space exploration,
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we're literally moving
beyond the boundaries of Earth.
beyond the boundaries of Earth.
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But as we push thresholds
in the name of learning and innovation,
in the name of learning and innovation,
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we must remember that accountability
for our environments never goes away.
for our environments never goes away.
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There is without doubt congestion
in the low Earth and geostationary orbits,
in the low Earth and geostationary orbits,
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and we cannot keep
launching new satellites
launching new satellites
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to replace the ones that have broken down
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without doing something about them first,
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just like we would never
leave a broken down car
leave a broken down car
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in the middle of the highway.
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Next time you use your phone,
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check the weather or use your GPS,
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think about the satellite technologies
that make those activities possible.
that make those activities possible.
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But also think about the very impact
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that the satellites have
on the environment surrounding Earth,
on the environment surrounding Earth,
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and help spread the message
that together we must reduce our impact.
that together we must reduce our impact.
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Earth orbit is breathtakingly beautiful
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and our gateway to exploration.
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It's up to us to keep it that way.
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Thank you.
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Natalie Panek - Rocket scientist, explorerNatalie Panek's work is focused on the idea that accountability for our environments never goes away.
Why you should listen
Natalie Panek's love of space and aviation led her to obtain a private pilot's license, design and drive a solar-powered car across North America, and build space robotics. She has participated in internships at NASA's Goddard Spaceflight Center and at NASA's Ames Research Center, where she worked on a mission to Mars. With degrees in mechanical and aerospace engineering, Panek has contributed to a number of space projects, including MDA's satellite servicing initiative and ESA's 2020 ExoMars rover program. She currently works in Mission Systems at MDA's robotics and automation division, on Canadian space robotics and other space exploration programs.
Panek founded her website, thePanekRoom, to encourage women to pursue challenging careers in nontraditional fields and explore the outdoors. She was featured on the editorial site "Women You Should Know" as a STEM Rock Star who is revolutionizing how we think about women in tech, and Canada's Financial Post describes Panek as "a vocal advocate for women in technology." She is also a member of the prestigious Explorer's Club and a Fellow of Royal Canadian Geographic Society. PANEK is the 2013 recipient of the University of Calgary Graduate of the Last Decade Award and the Northern Lights Award Foundation 2013 Rising Star in aerospace. She also joins an elite group of women as one of WXN's Top 100 Most Powerful Women (2014), Forbes' 30 Under 30 in Manufacturing and Industry (2015), Flare's inaugural 30 Under 30 list (2015) and one of Canada's Greatest Women Explorers by Canadian Geographic (2016).
(Photo: Geneviève Charbonneau)
Natalie Panek | Speaker | TED.com