Space traffic management - A European perspective

Space traffic management should ideally coordinate the launch and deployment, orbit maintenance and operation, and post-mission disposal of space systems, such that the terrestrial space environment is maintained in a state which allows operations with acceptable risk levels also in the long term. While a coordinated space traffic management is not yet accomplished at an international level, national space agencies start preparing the ground for such an endeavor. In Europe ESA, ASI, BNSC, CNES, and DLR are the main driving forces in this area. In their Space Debris Network of Centers Coordination Group, several of the relevant activities for space traffic management are coordinated and advanced to high technical standards, based on available expertise among European partners. As part of a future space traffic management, Europe strives to improve their capabilities in radar and optical space surveillance, in collision avoidance during launcher ascent and spacecraft operation, in re-entry risk management, in safe end-of-life disposition of space systems, and in modeling the space object environment and assessing measures to maintain its stability. The status of such activities will be described, and an outlook to future plans will be given. As another necessary step towards an international space traffic management, a recently tabled European Space Debris Mitigation Standard will be discussed and compared against other standards of major space faring nations. Finally, Europe's role in international space debris coordination activities will be outlined.