This essay won the Stimson Center’s “Build a Better US Foreign Policy” student competition. The competition invited students to share creative ideas for improving US foreign policy to draw new and innovative talent into the policy space and provide avenues for young thinkers to engage with leading foreign policy institutions. You can read the full essay at Inkstick Media.

As humanity’s presence in space expands, the growing problem of orbital debris poses significant risks to satellites, space stations, and other space-based assets. This issue presents an opportunity for the United States to engage with the international community, demonstrate leadership, and collaborate on a globally significant challenge. Central to this endeavor is the Outer Space Treaty.

The Outer Space Treaty is the cornerstone of international space law and outlines the key principles for peaceful space exploration, asserting that outer space is free for exploration and use by all nations, forbidding the placement of weapons of mass destruction in space, and declaring that space activities must be conducted for the benefit of all countries. Despite these broad provisions, the treaty does not address the contemporary issue of orbital debris. Therefore, the greatest step the United States could take to address orbital debris would be to amend the Outer Space Treaty to include provisions for tracking and managing debris, implementing penalties for violations, and creating requirements to purchase deorbit bonds. The recent increase in space missions and military anti-satellite weapons tests has led to a proliferation of orbital debris, which includes defunct satellites, spent rocket stages, and spacecraft fragments. The refuse poses an acute danger of high-speed collisions with operational satellites and spacecraft, which can result in significant damage or catastrophic failure. These hazards were recently highlighted by the on-orbit damage to a Russian Soyuz spacecraft and required debris avoidance maneuvers conducted by the International Space Station because of satellite fragments. The problem only expands as the accumulation of debris can trigger a cascading effect known as the Kessler Syndrome, where collisions generate more debris, increasing the likelihood of further collisions. Addressing the issue of orbital debris is vital for protecting valuable space-based assets and ensuring the long-term sustainability of space activities.