On Monday May 19, 2025, the
cross-party House of Lords UK
Engagement with Space Committee will quiz experts on space
debris as well as defence and security challenges and risks.
This is the latest
evidence session being held as part of a wide-ranging inquiry
into the UK's role in space and the space economy.
Space junk, or space debris, is any
piece of machinery or debris left by humans in space including
large dead satellites that have failed or been left in
orbit.
Nasa estimates roughly 9,000 tonnes of
debris are orbiting the earth at speeds of up to
25,000km/h.
The smallest debris still poses a
threat; in 2016 a fleck, possibly of paint, chipped a window on
the International Space Station and the incident was tweeted by astronaut Tim
Peake.
At 3:35pm the
committee will hear about space debris
from:
-
Imogen Napper, Visiting Research
Fellow at University of Plymouth
-
Hugh Lewis, Professor of
Astronautics at University of
Southampton
-
Don Polacco, Professor of
Astrophysics at The University of
Warwick
At 4:35pm it will take
evidence on issues around space and national security
from:
-
James Black, Assistant Director,
Defence and Security at RAND Europe
-
Dr Bleddyn Bowen, Associate
Professor of Astropolitics at Durham
University
The session will take place in Committee Room 4 and can be
watched live or later on Parliament
TV.
The committee, chaired by , will publish its report to
Government later this year.
Questions likely to be raised at the session
are:
-
How significant the space debris
problem is to the future of the space
economy?
-
How the UK can aid efforts to
address the challenge of space
debris?
-
How can space contribute to national
security and defence?
-
Who should the UK collaborate with
to ensure the security of its space-based
assets?
