Space debris — an insurance perspective

Abstract

The current article forms an introduction for the engineering community to space insurance and the way insurers view the space debris hazard. Insurance for space missions has developed and matured over the decades and is nowroutinely available for most missions, though only some are insured. Policies that cover accidental damage in the pre-launch phases; launch and a period in-orbit; and follow-on in-orbit insurance are taken out by those wanting to transfer their risk exposures to the insurance community. These include spacecraft manufacturers, spacecraft owner-operators, users of spacecraft payloads, and launch service providers. Liabilities to third parties can also be covered by insurance. National and international law (e.g. UN Treaties) determine such matters. Under the UN Liability Convention, the Launching State is ultimately liable. Through licensing and contracts the Launching State transfers its liabilities to the launch service providers and spacecraft owner-operators. In turn, these insure their own liabilities. The risk of space debris damage is included as one of many environmental hazards. In an insurance context, space debris includes man-made objects/fragments, and naturally occurring objects, both in-orbit and entering/re-entering to earth. It also includes debris from launchers and stages that explode or otherwise do not reach orbit. All objects of whatever origin can cause damage or injury as they return through air-space to land or sea. While there have been instances of debris impact on spacecraft in-orbit, so far, none has resulted in an insured loss. Insurance is a reactive enterprise, and if a total loss claim attributed to debris impact were to arrive in the market, it would adversely affect the cost and availability of insurance. Tracing the cause (debris impact) to a particular man-made space object is difficult, but not impossible. If done successfully, this could result in a claim against the Launching State of that object. Insurers always stay aware of the extent and the orbital distribution of space debris, as well as the possibility that debris damage may be traceable to an identifiable man-made object. Their stance is to keep an informed watching brief on the subject.