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Reports this week suggest a near-collision between an Australian satellite and a suspected Chinese military satellite. Earlier this month, the US government issued the first ever space junk fine, penalizing the DISH Network for a communications satellite that has been in space for more than 21 years.

We are entering an unprecedented era of space use and can expect the number of active satellites in space to increase by 700% by the end of the decade. As our local space gets more crowded, keeping an eye on tens of thousands of satellites and space debris will become more important. This has given rise to a new field called space domain awareness.

Satellites tend to be in three main orbits: low Earth orbit, medium Earth orbit, and geosynchronous orbit. Low Earth orbit is the most common, with at least 5,900 active satellites. These satellites reside up to 1,000km above Earth’s surface and are constantly in motion. Medium Earth orbit is home to important satellites like GPS, while geosynchronous orbit consists of satellites over 35,000km above Earth that match the rate of rotation.

Space junk, defined as disused artificial debris in orbit, ranges from entire satellites to small bits of spacecraft. There are currently more than 130 million pieces of space debris, with only 35,000 of those large enough to be tracked.

To track satellites and space debris, space domain awareness relies on ground-based tracking using radar and optical systems. Radar is used for objects in low Earth orbit, while optical sensors are needed for higher orbits. Multiple sensors around the globe contribute to continuous space domain awareness.

Australia plays a unique role in space domain awareness due to its location. It houses facilities on the west coast as part of the Space Surveillance Network, taking advantage of dark night skies and minimal light pollution. Australia is also working on a space domain awareness technology demonstrator through the SmartSat CRC consortium, funded by the government and involving universities, research organizations, and industry partners.

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