Companies Worry about Risks as Earth Orbit Gets Crowded

An increasing amount of space debris¹ is threatening satellites orbiting Earth. The situation is worrying companies that insure against losses during space travel.

Thousands of new satellites are being launched into areas where debris has been building up since space flight began.

Experts 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.

Richard Parker is co-founder of Assure Space, a part of AmTrust Financial. Parker described the problem as "a real issue for insurance."

Over 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 coverage².

"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.

Significant is a term that means large or important.

There are 8,055 satellites orbiting Earth. But 42 percent of them are inactive. That information comes from Seradata, a space marketing³ group. Most of these satellites operate in the LEO area, which goes up to 2,000 kilometers above Earth.

The 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.

Much of the new activity has come from businessman Elon Musk's SpaceX company, as it grows its Starlink network of satellites.

SpaceX did not answer requests for comment. As a privately⁴ held company, it does not publicly share whether its satellites are insured.

Insurance 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.

The insurance issue is part of a larger problem: no one is cleaning up debris in space.

Government agencies follow thousands of pieces of debris, including inside a "graveyard⁵ orbit" where old satellites are sent to die with their last bits of fuel.

About 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.

Charles Wetton of insurer Global Aerospace⁶ said, "The concentrations of debris and increasing numbers of satellites being deployed⁷ are increasing the potential for collision."

Potential is a term that means possibility or capability⁸ of becoming real.

Seradata 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.

Wetton noted⁹ 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.

There are no signs such a situation will happen soon, Wetton said. But the "Kessler effect" could make some orbits uninsurable.

Assure 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.

New insurers may enter the market. Until then, industry experts said companies, universities and government agencies will likely carry more financial responsibility.

Words in This Story

debris – n. things (such as broken pieces and old objects) that have been left somewhere because they are not wanted

insure –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

type –n. a particular kind or group of things

graveyard – n. a place where old things are left or thrown away

concentration – n. a large amount of something in one place

1 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

2 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

3 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

4 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

5 graveyard   

n.坟场

参考例句：

• All the town was drifting toward the graveyard.全镇的人都象流水似地向那坟场涌过去。
• Living next to a graveyard would give me the creeps.居住在墓地旁边会使我毛骨悚然。

6 aerospace   

adj.航空的，宇宙航行的

参考例句：

• The world's entire aerospace industry is feeling the chill winds of recession.全世界的航空航天工业都感受到了经济衰退的寒意。
• Edward Murphy was an aerospace engineer for the US Army.爱德华·墨菲是一名美军的航宇工程师。

7 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

8 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

9 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。