Going beyond to help keep space safe and 可持续发展的
Viasat is modeling low earth orbit (LEO) carrying capacity to help preserve opportunities in space for all nations.
A message from Viasat CEO Mark Dankberg
Responsible environmental, social, and governance practices aren't limited to Earth.
As a global company operating in space, Viasat believes that safety and sustainability need as much attention in space as on our planet. Just like our oceans, the space environment must be protected for the use of all. As more operators plan to launch hundreds of thousands of satellites into space — especially into the orbit closest to our planet (low-Earth orbit) — the need for new regulation and careful resource management is paramount. Without suitable new rules that we apply to the potential damage created by these mega-constellations, we’re at risk of creating problems that could take decades — or even centuries — to fix (if they are fixable at all). The potential issues include chain reaction collisions caused by exceeding LEO’s carrying capacity and a resulting loss of access to space, inequitable consumption of orbits and spectrum that blocks other countries from enjoying the benefits of space, the climate 影响 of massive numbers of satellites disintegrating in the upper atmosphere every year, and threats to optical and radio 天文学 and enjoyment of the night sky.
The current rate of LEO satellite deployments is a new phenomenon, and we need to begin managing the size, mass, and number of what’s launched into space. 卫星越多, the higher the risk — and it’s critical that regulations catch up with the way in which space now is being populated.
We’re encouraged by recent efforts in the UK to develop international standards and establish a globally recognized ESG benchmark for space sustainability in collaboration with other nations, 和运营商. Viasat is committed to continue to work with global partners, 政策制定者, and industry leaders to promote rules that bring the benefits of space to the world, 负责任和安全.
Now, 更甚于以往, it’s vital that all of us be concerned about safe, 可持续发展的, 和公平 access to space and take action to protect it.
空间安全
We believe new satellite systems can be designed and operated in a safe way to deliver world connectivity, and serve other essential civic functions, but with reduced risks of collisions and runaway debris.
空间股本
We support equitable access to scarce spectrum and orbital resources for all countries and are committed to operating in space in a way that’s responsible, 透明的, 和协作.
空间可持续性
We believe proactive regulation is critical to allow space communications, 科学研究, and exploration to continue with decreased 影响 on climate change, 大气中, 天文学, 还有夜空.
我们的轨道太满了
LEO is a finite resource and “rivalrous” (each consumer reduces the amount available to others), 但对所有人开放, incentivizing a “tragedy of the commons”. Current trends risk a global loss of access to space for decades or even centuries. If a fraction of the proposed mega-constellation satellites are deployed, there may be more than an order of magnitude increase in number of satellites, 总质量, and aggregate cross-sectional area in LEO. Orbiting satellites increasingly are at risk of being fragmented by collisions with debris. The accumulation of debris in LEO is one of the most pressing threats to the safety and sustainability of space exploitation. Attempts to slow debris growth have consisted of ad hoc, heuristic, guidance for new missions. We propose a holistic model using a multidimensional state vector approach to evaluate a “carrying capacity” metric, the 可持续发展的 satellite population distribution in LEO.
Viasat believes there is a way to ensure safe, 可持续发展的, 和公平 access to space for all. We are committed to being a responsible space technology company. In addition to meeting and exceeding critical space safety measures, we are working with a broad range of 政策制定者 and industry leaders to promote rules that allow many operators to participate in an orderly fashion in the space economy for generations to come.
Mark Dankberg, Viasat CEO and Chairman of the Board