The space environment has, currently, more than 8,800 metric tons of human-deposited mass in orbit, more than 30,000 space debris objects larger than 10 cm, around 900,000 objects larger than 1 cm, 128 million pieces of debris around 1 mm, and 2 trillion pieces of debris around 0.1 mm. Today over 41% of small satellite missions experience partial to total system failures in orbit; by the end of the decade, the number of active satellites is projected to increase by 2000% to a total of 100,000+.

The consistent increase in the number of collisions and fragments creates a reduced orbit capacity for future missions and a reduced access to space. There is a need of an end-to-end environmental impact assessment that measures the global health of the space environment, and the risks sustained and induced by future satellites and constellations. These analyses will form the backbone of future policies.

The workshop will take the participants on a journey to explore the multiple facets of space sustainability. Through a series of representative game scenarios, the attendees will be able to evaluate the environmental impact of new space missions and services, and understand the costs and benefits of implementing new policies that promote short- and long-term sustainability. The workshop will open with a demo of tools developed within the UKSA funded project AI for space operations, safety and sustainability, that can quantify the global health of the space environment, impact of new missions and constellations, and the long term sustainability of the space sector.

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(Places are limited so will be awarded on a first come first serve basis and require advance registration).

Workshop Leader:

Massimiliano Vasile, is currently Professor of Space Systems Engineering and Director of the Aerospace Centre of Excellence at the University of Strathclyde.

He received his M.S. in 1996 and Ph.D. in 2001 from Politecnico di Milano.  He sits on the AIAA Astrodynamics and IAF Space Power committees, and chairs the IEEE task force on Emerging Technologies in Space and Aerospace. He is scientific adviser to the UK delegation to UNOOSA and sits on the UN Space Mission Planning Advisory Group.  His research interests include Computational Astrodynamics, Space Sustainability, Computational Intelligence and Optimisation Under Uncertainty exploring the limits of computer science at solving highly complex problems in science and engineering.  Asteroid 2002 PX33 “Maxvasile” was named in his honour in recognition of Prof Vasile’s contributions to the development of innovative techniques for the design and optimisation of space trajectories and his work on asteroid manipulation.

Prof. Vasile has developed novel numerical methods for single and multi-objective optimisation under uncertainty, has pioneered the use of computational intelligence in astrodynamics, and the use of imprecise probability theories in the optimisation of space systems.  His research has been funded by the European Space Agency, the UK and French Space Agencies, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, the Planetary Society and the European Commission. He is an AIAA associate fellow and an IEEE senior member.

Organised by:

Environmental Task Force 

The Environmental Task Force is a group of volunteers from academia, government, industry and third sector organisations, working together to ensure the space sector is sustainable by design. The group published the world’s 1st Sustainable Space Roadmap (we believe) and is now delivering on the Work Packages in the document. The group arose from Scotland but now includes members from across the UK and globally.

Website: https://spacescotland.org/working-groups/environmental/

The Institute on AI for Space Safety and Sustainability

The Institute on AI for Space Safety and Sustainability is a collaboration between the UK, Canada, USA and Australia, led by the University of Strathclyde. It is supported by the UK Space Agency (UKSA) and other public and private investments. The institute brings together stakeholders from academia, industry, and government, with the aim of driving sustainable innovation and promoting responsible practices in the use of AI for space applications. Our mission is to accelerate the development of AI technologies from early-stage concepts to full-scale adoption in the space sector.

Website: https://www.aiforsustainability.space/