NASA Plans to Continue Orbital Debris Program

A recent UPI article “NASA axing orbital debris research program” made note of funding problems with NASA JSC’s Orbital Debris program:

“Budget overruns are prompting the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to end its 23-year-old Orbital Debris Program Office on Oct. 1, space agency officials admitted on Friday, even though orbital debris is acknowledged as a serious problem for the space shuttle, International Space Station and satellites in low-Earth orbit.”

According to a senior source at NASA, the issues referred to the UPI article were based on interviews that were conducted before interactions between NASA HQ and the JSC Orbital Debris Program concerning the ongoing POP (Program Operating Plan) process.

As a result of the recent re-entry of the EUVE satellite NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe is known to be supportive of the JSC Orbital Debris program. As part of the ongoing POP (budget formulation) activity, the Office of Spaceflight (Code M) and the Office Safety and Mission Assurance (Code Q) at NASA HQ have been working with JSC and have included a requirement for the continued funding of the Orbital Debris program in the current POP guidelines.

According to the senior NASA source “NASA does not plan to relinquish it’s leadership role in this field and as part of the internal FY 2004 POP planning process we are developing a more integrated program that addresses not only the JSC monitoring and assessment capability- but also the tools necessary for NASA spacecraft and launch vehicles to be compliant with NASA’s Orbital Debris Policy.”

It is important to note that in the past, the ISS and Shuttle programs have funded the NASA Orbital Debris program to the tune of $3 million per year whereas other parties (such as the FAA and commercial launch providers) concerned with, affected by and, in the case of expendable launch vehicles and upper stages, major sources of orbital debris have not contributed any funding.

This is important to note since neither the Space Shuttle or the ISS contribute to the orbital debris hazard. Instead this hazard is something that is due in most part to expendable launch vehicles. NASA is currently looking to expand the funding pool for this activity to include other parties. In FY 2002, NASA’s ELV Office provided some funds to keep the program going.

What did come through accurately in the UPI article is the frustration on the part of the folks at JSC and elsewhere in the orbital debris community that such an obviously important activity does not currently have a solid, long term guarantee of funding.

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