Companies Worry about Risks as Earth Orbit Gets Crowded
2021-09-07
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1An increasing amount of space debris is threatening satellites orbiting Earth.
2The situation is worrying companies that insure against losses during space travel.
3Thousands of new satellites are being launched into areas where debris has been building up since space flight began.
4Experts and business leaders recently told the Reuters news agency that the increased risks of objects crashing into each other concerns insurers.
5They said the small number of insurers that offer satellite insurance are pulling back or leaving the market.
6Richard Parker is co-founder of Assure Space, a part of AmTrust Financial.
7Parker described the problem as "a real issue for insurance."
8Over a year ago, the company stopped providing spacecraft insurance in the Low Earth Orbit (LEO), the area where most satellites operate.
9The few policies it has sold since then do not cover crashes with debris, also known as collision coverage.
10"It may start to get difficult to get that type of coverage in the near future as more insurers realize that this is a significant risk that we can't even get our arms around," Parker told Reuters.
11Significant is a term that means large or important.
12There are 8,055 satellites orbiting Earth.
13But 42 percent of them are inactive.
14That information comes from Seradata, a space marketing group.
15Most of these satellites operate in the LEO area, which goes up to 2,000 kilometers above Earth.
16The number of active satellites has jumped 68 percent from a year ago.
17And it has increased by more than 200 percent from five years ago.
18Much of the new activity has come from businessman Elon Musk's SpaceX company, as it grows its Starlink network of satellites.
19SpaceX did not answer requests for comment.
20As a privately held company, it does not publicly share whether its satellites are insured.
21Insurance companies say that other major companies, including Google, Apple and Amazon, also use satellites to send data.
22So do telecommunications providers, government agencies and universities working on space research.
23The insurance issue is part of a larger problem: no one is cleaning up debris in space.
24Government agencies follow thousands of pieces of debris, including inside a "graveyard orbit" where old satellites are sent to die with their last bits of fuel.
25About half of new satellite launches now have insurance, said Denis Bousquet, an official with insurance company AXA XL's space business.
26People in the industry expect more policies to not include collision coverage and fewer satellites to have insurance.
27Charles Wetton of insurer Global Aerospace said, "The concentrations of debris and increasing numbers of satellites being deployed are increasing the potential for collision."
28Potential is a term that means possibility or capability of becoming real.
29Seradata said only 11 spacecraft have suffered a partial or total failure because of suspected debris strikes over the past 10 years.
30But, because insurers predict risks over the life of current and future policies, space insurers worry about problems in the years ahead.
31Wetton noted the possibility of a "Kessler effect," named for NASA space debris expert Don Kessler who developed the idea in 1978.
32It suggests that LEO could become so crowded that there is a large increase in the possibility of collisions.
33There are no signs such a situation will happen soon, Wetton said.
34But the "Kessler effect" could make some orbits uninsurable.
35Assure Space's Parker said he is sure a large collision will take place within the next three years.
36He said it would make insurance nearly impossible to get.
37New insurers may enter the market.
38Until then, industry experts said companies, universities and government agencies will likely carry more financial responsibility.
39I'm John Russell.
1An increasing amount of space debris is threatening satellites orbiting Earth. The situation is worrying companies that insure against losses during space travel. 2Thousands of new satellites are being launched into areas where debris has been building up since space flight began. 3Experts and business leaders recently told the Reuters news agency that the increased risks of objects crashing into each other concerns insurers. They said the small number of insurers that offer satellite insurance are pulling back or leaving the market. 4Richard Parker is co-founder of Assure Space, a part of AmTrust Financial. Parker described the problem as "a real issue for insurance." 5Over a year ago, the company stopped providing spacecraft insurance in the Low Earth Orbit (LEO), the area where most satellites operate. The few policies it has sold since then do not cover crashes with debris, also known as collision coverage. 6"It may start to get difficult to get that type of coverage in the near future as more insurers realize that this is a significant risk that we can't even get our arms around," Parker told Reuters. 7Significant is a term that means large or important. 8There are 8,055 satellites orbiting Earth. But 42 percent of them are inactive. That information comes from Seradata, a space marketing group. Most of these satellites operate in the LEO area, which goes up to 2,000 kilometers above Earth. 9The number of active satellites has jumped 68 percent from a year ago. And it has increased by more than 200 percent from five years ago. 10Much of the new activity has come from businessman Elon Musk's SpaceX company, as it grows its Starlink network of satellites. 11SpaceX did not answer requests for comment. As a privately held company, it does not publicly share whether its satellites are insured. 12Insurance companies say that other major companies, including Google, Apple and Amazon, also use satellites to send data. So do telecommunications providers, government agencies and universities working on space research. 13The insurance issue is part of a larger problem: no one is cleaning up debris in space. 14Government agencies follow thousands of pieces of debris, including inside a "graveyard orbit" where old satellites are sent to die with their last bits of fuel. 15About half of new satellite launches now have insurance, said Denis Bousquet, an official with insurance company AXA XL's space business. People in the industry expect more policies to not include collision coverage and fewer satellites to have insurance. 16Charles Wetton of insurer Global Aerospace said, "The concentrations of debris and increasing numbers of satellites being deployed are increasing the potential for collision." 17Potential is a term that means possibility or capability of becoming real. 18Seradata said only 11 spacecraft have suffered a partial or total failure because of suspected debris strikes over the past 10 years. But, because insurers predict risks over the life of current and future policies, space insurers worry about problems in the years ahead. 19Wetton noted the possibility of a "Kessler effect," named for NASA space debris expert Don Kessler who developed the idea in 1978. It suggests that LEO could become so crowded that there is a large increase in the possibility of collisions. 20There are no signs such a situation will happen soon, Wetton said. But the "Kessler effect" could make some orbits uninsurable. 21Assure Space's Parker said he is sure a large collision will take place within the next three years. He said it would make insurance nearly impossible to get. 22New insurers may enter the market. Until then, industry experts said companies, universities and government agencies will likely carry more financial responsibility. 23I'm John Russell. 24Noor Zainab Hussain and Carolyn Cohn reported on this story for Reuters. John Russell adapted it for Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 25________________________________________________ 26Words in This Story 27debris - n. things (such as broken pieces and old objects) that have been left somewhere because they are not wanted 28insure -v. to providing insurance - an agreement in which a person makes regular payments to a company and the company promises to pay money equal to the value of something (such as a house or car) if it is damaged, lost, or stolen 29type -n. a particular kind or group of things 30graveyard - n. a place where old things are left or thrown away 31concentration - n. a large amount of something in one place