We use space for our lives on Earth. The expansion of digital infrastructures on the earth’s surface also means that more and more technical objects are being transported into space. Navigation without GPS is nowadays almost unimaginable. Telephone services and weather apps also use space technology – and the data streams in an internet of the future will probably no longer be routed mainly through long cables, but by means of constellations of thousands of satellites arranged around the globe. In the meantime, however, our planet is being orbited mainly by remnants of broken space technology, which are massively obstructing the increasingly dense traffic of important probes and satellites. It is an unintended consequence of human space travel that space debris actually jeopardises the future use of space. Added to this is the “weather” in space: digital infrastructures that ensure the security of systems on Earth are also increasingly affected by this. Who takes care of these problems? And how can we ensure that space flight can continue to supply the digital society with satellites?
Dr Holger Krag heads the ESA Space Safety Programme at the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC), which also deals with space debris and space weather. In this episode of “Digitalgespräch“, the expert describes the scene around our globe and describes how the challenges facing space travel have changed in recent decades, particularly as a result of the digital transformation. He names strategies for dealing with new safety risks and regulatory requirements, describes technical solutions and open research questions. Together with hosts Petra Gehring and Marlene Görger, Krag discusses whether the global political situation also poses a threat to space travel safety, what influence private players have on the development of space travel and what is at stake if the current problems cannot be solved.
Further informationen:
Link to the website of the European Space Agency ESA with reports and background information on space debris: https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Space_Debris
Link to the website of the European Space Agency ESA with reports and background information on space weather: https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Space_weather
all episodes of Digitalgespräch
The podcast is in German. At the moment there is no English version or transcript available.
