The insurance industry faces new challenges as the number of low Earth orbiting (LEO) satellite constellations are launched into areas littered with space debris, a study by Swiss Re has found.
Space debris makes up over 90% of the tracked objects orbiting the Earth today and pose a profound risk to the increasing number of LEO satellite constellations being launched.
It takes less energy to place satellites into LEO – which orbit between 400 and 1,000 miles above the Earth’s surface and typically provide services like Earth observation, internet connectivity and voice communications – and requires less powerful amplifiers for successful transmission, hence their increasing use.
“With more and more constellations being deployed in LEO, the insurance industry is facing new challenges,” explained Jan Schmidt, Head of Space at Swiss Re Corporate Solutions.
Swiss Re highlights legal challenges such as how liability may be attributed in case of collision and examines how the insurance industry is responding to the needs of increasingly complex satellite operations.
“Typically, insurers have provided insurance products that respond to total loss or damage to large, high-value communications satellites in Geostationary orbit.”
The catalogued orbital population has grown by 19% since 2011 to around 19 000 objects, with the greatest increases among operational payloads and fragmentation debris.
“Today we are seeing increased demand for products offering similar financial protection but for constellations made up of hundreds or even thousands of satellites operating in LEO,” added Schmidt.
According to the United Nations, the private sector leads 70% of space activity. Satellite constellations, especially in LEO, could cause the greatest disruption to space traffic and how space is used.
In the future, Swiss Re says that the probability and consequence of collision are likely to become primary considerations when underwriting this highly specialised class of business.
