Imagine going about your day when a heavy metal object suddenly crashes in front of your house. You and your neighbours are shocked. You rush out to check what has happened and struggle to make sense of the sight: a misshapen piece of hot metal, blackened by fire and soot, with a cloud of dust swirling around it.

This isn’t a scene from a sci-fi film. On December 30, 2024, a metal object weighing 500 kg fell in Makueni county in Kenya. Experts from the Kenya Space Agency characterised it as a separation ring from a space-bound rocket. While Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer known for cataloguing space launches and objects in orbit, and some others have expressed scepticism that the object was a part of a rocket, similar incidents in the US and Australia before have served repeated reminders of the urgent problem of space debris.

Space activity is becoming more brisk as countries are launching more rockets, satellites, and spacecraft. Falling debris also challenges the laws that protect humans. The question of accountability looms largest: when debris crashes to the earth, who is responsible and how can they be held accountable?

Space debris in law

Despite being a critical issue in space governance, space debris lacks a universally accepted legal definition in international treaties. Commonly accepted working definitions come from the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee and the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS). The latter refers to space debris thus: “Space debris is all man-made objects, including fragments and elements thereof, in Earth orbit or re-entering the atmosphere, that are non-functional.”

Given the lack of definition, legal disputes often hinge on whether a piece of debris qualifies as a “space object” under the Convention for International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects of 1972. This distinction is critical because liability attaches to space objects under the Convention, but if debris is no longer under a state’s jurisdiction, responsibility becomes more challenging to enforce.

Article VI of the Outer Space Treaty 1967 forms the cornerstone of international space law. It says states bear responsibility for all national space activities, whether conducted by governmental or private entities. The 1972 Convention also introduced “absolute liability” for damage caused by space objects on the earth. Unlike fault-based liability, absolute liability requires no proof of negligence: launching states are automatically responsible for harm caused by their debris.

Not just a technicality

But enforcement remains a crucial challenge. The resolution of disputes banks on diplomatic negotiations, often resulting in prolonged settlements that fall short of actual costs. After the Soviet satellite Cosmos 954, carrying a nuclear reactor, crashed in Canada in 1978, Canada spent years negotiating with the USSR and ultimately secured only $3 million of the estimated $6 million clean-up cost. The case underscored the gap between legal liability and practical enforcement, leaving affected parties vulnerable to inadequate resolutions.

If a fragment from a defunct satellite causes damage decades later, can the original launching state still be held liable? Such legal uncertainties also weaken the effectiveness of existing liability frameworks and complicate enforcement.

Attributing debris to its source adds another layer of complexity. While advanced tracking systems and forensic analysis can often trace debris, such as identifying Soviet-era components or SpaceX fragments, older, undocumented objects or highly fragmented debris may defy identification.

Gap in governance

The surge in global space activity and the repeated use of rockets and rocket parts has made uncontrolled reentries risky. Earlier this month, pieces from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket landed in Poland. But the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said its oversight ended when SpaceX lost control of the rocket. The response exemplified a growing concern: once a space object is no longer actively controlled, no clear authority is responsible for its reentry or any damage it may cause.

In July 2024, China’s Long March 5B rocket core stage, a 23-tonne metal behemoth, plunged uncontrolled into the southern Pacific Ocean, narrowly avoiding populated areas. This was the rocket’s fourth such reentry event since 2020 alone, and reignited global alarm over space debris.

Unlike more modern rockets, which have parts that are designed and machined to burn up completely during reentry or have the ability to be steered over remote areas, the Long March 5B core stage lacks disposal mechanisms, making its descent a game of orbital roulette. While China has improved reentry predictions, warnings often come too late for other states to put meaningful safeguards in place.

These incidents have exposed another glaring gap in space governance: there are no binding rules to penalise uncontrolled reentries until damage occurs. Space agencies have condemned such risks as “reckless” but these warnings carry no legal weight without international regulations that commit countries to proactive measures.

The rapid growth of satellite mega-constellations, such as SpaceX Starlink, Amazon Kuiper, and Eutelsat’s OneWeb, will add more than 100,000 satellites by 2030, increasing the risk of uncontrolled reentries. Many older satellites also lack deorbiting plans, worsening debris accumulation in orbit. While small satellites usually burn up, larger objects like rocket boosters and fuel tanks often survive reentry, posing threats. In 2022, a fragment of SpaceX’s crew capsule Dragon crashed in Australia.

Guidelines such as the UN’s rule to have satellites deorbit within 25 years are still voluntary, with only around 30% compliance, leaving thousands of decaying satellites in unpredictable orbits.

What needs to change?

The world urgently needs regulatory clarity to rescue it from the overarching problem: no mandatory oversight exists for reentries unless direct harm occurs. Without urgent reforms, uncontrolled reentries will become more frequent and the affected communities will continue to bear the costs without recourse.

The world needs stronger regulations. For one, COPUOS must push for binding global regulations that require controlled reentries and penalties for non-compliant actors. In parallel, national governments should strengthen domestic policies, requiring companies to adopt debris mitigation strategies as a condition for getting launch licenses.

Disposal rules should be mandatory as well as require spaceflight entities to have controlled reentries or the ability to move to graveyard orbits (where defunct satellites are moved to avoid colliding with other satellites). And these needs should be enforced through sanctions or launch bans.

Second, improved tracking systems, such as expanding the US Space Fence, can improve monitoring and reentry predictions. Sustainable space practices, including debris-neutral technologies and reusable rockets, should also be incentivised to reduce clutter in orbit and enhance long-term safety.

Finally, the 1972 Liability Convention must be modernised to include an independent international tribunal with binding enforcement powers.

Space is not a lawless frontier but it risks becoming one without decisive action. The time for voluntary guidelines is over: global cooperation, enforceable rules, and accountability mechanisms must take precedence before the sky truly starts falling.

Shrawani Shagun is pursuing a PhD at National Law University, Delhi, focusing on environmental sustainability and space governance.