Operations & Safety

Space operations have accelerated to unprecedented levels as commercial service providers ramp up their business plans. Ensuring space operations safety is paramount for the long-term viability and sustainability of space activities. Space situational awareness plays a critical role in maintaining physical safety by tracking and avoiding potential collisions between spacecraft, orbital debris, and other objects in Earth's orbit. Effective space traffic management systems are essential for collision avoidance during launch and on-orbit operations. Space weather monitoring is another crucial aspect of space safety, as solar flares and geomagnetic storms can disrupt communications and pose risks to both spacecraft and astronauts. Implementing robust space debris mitigation strategies, such as deorbiting defunct satellites and rocket bodies, helps preserve the space environment for future generations. Ultimately, adhering to space safety standards and space sustainability practices is vital for ensuring the responsible and long-term utilization of the space domain.

News & Analysis

Jan 17, 2025
Several commercial airline flights in the northern Caribbean briefly entered holding patterns due to debris from the test flight of SpaceX’s Starship rocket.
Jan 17, 2025
SpaceX is pressing ahead with plans for another Starship test flight as it investigates the loss of the upper stage during the most recent development mission.
Jan 16, 2025
India plans to build a third launchpad at its Satish Dhawan Space Center to accommodate the ISRO's Next-Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV).
Jan 16, 2025
Blue Origin has achieved its goal of becoming an orbital launch player, even as it failed to recover its first-stage booster in the ambitious inaugural flight of its New Glenn rocket.
Jan 15, 2025
ESA is prepping for launch of the Planetary Transits and Oscillations of Stars (Plato) mission, with the telescope to lift off on an Ariane 62 late next year.
Jan 15, 2025
Two pioneering commercial lunar landers, Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost Mission 1 and Japan's ispace's Resilience, successfully launched early Jan. 15.
Jan 13, 2025
An undisclosed vehicle subsystem issue on the New Glenn heavy-lift rocket prompted Blue Origin to scrub the launch shortly after 3 a.m. EST.
Jan 09, 2025
ESA is assessing what NASA’s plan changes for the Mars Sample Return mission mean and preparing for potential alterations to the Artemis lunar program.