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“Clear Skies but with a Chance of Satellite Debris”—The Space Debris Problem as Portrayed in the Film Gravity: Fact or Fiction?

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Outer Space and Popular Culture

Part of the book series: Southern Space Studies ((SOSPST))

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Abstract

Since the early years of filmmaking, space movies have steadily evolved from pure fantasy to realistic portrayals of outer space travel and exploration. As time progressed, filmmakers started to use cinema to communicate the realities of outer space travel to their audiences. One of the realities of contemporary space travel is the pressing space debris problem. The 2013 film Gravity, directed by Alfonso Cuarón, provides a dramatic portrayal of the significant threat that space debris poses to spacecraft, space stations, and astronauts. This chapter argues that despite some scientific and technical inaccuracies and exaggerations in the portrayal of the space debris disaster in Gravity, the movie is based on a very real premise, namely the increasing dangers posed by the escalating space debris problem in outer space. It is concluded that Gravity not only informed the general public about the dangers of space debris, but it stimulated renewed interest in and discussion of the space debris problem amongst scientists, astronauts, non-governmental organisations, and decision makers. It may therefore be argued that Gravity, at least indirectly, contributes to the process of finding solutions for the space debris problem by getting stakeholders to consider and evaluate the risks posed by space debris as depicted in the movie.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Sandra Bullock’s character, Dr Ryan Stone, in the 2013 film Gravity, directed by Alfonso Cuarón and produced by Warner Bros. Pictures, see: “Quotes”, www.quotes.net/mquote/114938 (all websites cited in this publication were last accessed and verified on 31 August 2023).

  2. 2.

    Looking to the Stars—The Evolution of Space Films, Special Feature to the Film Gravity on Apple TV, produced by Troy Bejamin, Abby Lance and Adam Vadnais, released in the United States on 31 March 2015, see: Gravity: Looking to the Stars—The Evolution of Space Films, www.imdb.com/title/tt4733342/?ref_=ttfc_ql.

  3. 3.

    Ibid.

  4. 4.

    “Science fiction meets science fact: how film inspired the Moon landing. Films and literature gave us a dream of the future. Apollo 11 made it a reality”, Royal Museums Greenwich, https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/science-fiction-meets-science-fact-how-film-inspired-moon-landing.

  5. 5.

    Looking to the Stars: The Evolution of Space Films (Footnote 2).

  6. 6.

    “Science fiction meets science fact: how film inspired the Moon landing. Films and literature gave us a dream of the future. Apollo 11 made it a reality” (Footnote 4).

  7. 7.

    Ibid.

  8. 8.

    Robyn Johnston, “The Space Junk Disaster in ‘Gravity’ is a Real Threat”, Insider, 28 October 2013, www.businessinsider.com/author/robyn-johnston.

  9. 9.

    For a synopsis of the film see: Culture Crypt, https://culturecrypt.com/movie-reviews/gravity-2013.

  10. 10.

    For example, in the film the astronauts float over from the Hubble Space Telescope to the ISS. However, in reality the Hubble Space Telescope and the ISS are in different orbits. Later, Stone transits from the ISS to the Tiangong-1 space station whilst these two stations are also in reality in different orbits, see further: Jean-Luc Margot, “How Realistic is Gravity?” UCLA Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, 28 September 2013, https://seti.ucla.edu/jlm/epo/gravity.html#:~:text=Problematic%20scene&text=Any%20piece%20of%20debris%20would,spin%20state%20of%20the%20shuttle; Gwynne Watkins, “An Astronaut Fact-checks Gravity”, Vulture, 7 October 2013, www.vulture.com/2013/10/astronaut-fact-checks-gravity.html; Garrett Reisman, “What Does A Real Astronaut Think of ‘Gravity’?”, Forbes, 17 October 2013, www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2013/10/17/what-does-a-real-astronaut-think-of-gravity/?sh=7a8f535b1e40.

  11. 11.

    Christophe Venet, “The Political Dimension”, in Outer Space in Society, Politics and Law (Studies in Space Policy, vol 8), eds. Christian Brünner and Alexander Soucek, Vienna: Springer, 2011, pp. 73–74.

  12. 12.

    See: “Countries with Space Programs 2023”, World Population Review, https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/countries-with-space-programs.

  13. 13.

    Thomas Neger and Alexander Soucek, “Space Faring: A Short Overview of the Present Situation”, in (Footnote 11), p. 164, for a list of national and regional space agencies see: UNOOSA, www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/space-agencies.html.

  14. 14.

    Margarita Chrysaki, “The Sustainable Commercialisation of Space: The Case for a Voluntary Code of Conduct for the Space Industry”, Space Policy 52, (2020), p. 1.

  15. 15.

    For example, the involvement of private companies, such as SpaceX, in the launching of satellites and transporting of goods and astronauts to the International Space Station, see: SpaceX, www.spacex.com/human-spaceflight/iss/index.html.

  16. 16.

    See: “Space Tourism: 7 Space Companies That Will Make You An Astronaut”, Revfine, www.revfine.com/space-tourism/; on the legal challenges related to space tourism, see: Yanal Abul Failat and Anél Ferreira-Snyman, “Regulation of the Space Tourism Sector”, in Outer Space Law: Legal Policy and Practice, eds. Yanal Abul Failat and Anél Ferreira-Snyman (London: Globe Law and Business, 2022), pp. 301–346; Anél Ferreira-Snyman, “Legal Challenges Relating to the Commercial Use of Outer Space with Specific Reference to Space Tourism”, Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal 17, no. 1 (2014), p. 2.

  17. 17.

    Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Blue Origin, established by Jeff Bezos, are currently the most active private enterprises involved in this endeavour, see further: SpaceX (Footnote 15); Blue Origin, www.blueorigin.com/.

  18. 18.

    Article 1 of the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies (OST), 1966 (RES 2222 (XXI)) determines that “[t]he exploration and use of outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, shall be carried out for the benefit and in the interests of all countries, irrespective of their degree of economic or scientific development, and shall be the province of all mankind. Outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, shall be free for exploration and use by all States without discrimination of any kind, on a basis of equality and in accordance with international law, and there shall be free access to all areas of celestial bodies. There shall be freedom of scientific investigation in outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, and States shall facilitate and encourage international co-operation in such investigation.”.

  19. 19.

    “Space debris by the numbers”, The European Space Agency, 11 August 2023, www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Space_Debris/Space_debris_by_the_numbers.

  20. 20.

    Ibid.

  21. 21.

    “Scanning and observing”, The European Space Agency, www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Space_Debris/Scanning_and_observing2.

  22. 22.

    Mustapha Iderawumi, “Russia Deploys Space Debris Monitoring Facility to South Africa”, Space in Africa, 24 July 2023, https://africanews.space/russia-deploys-space-debris-monitoring-facility-to-south-africa/.

  23. 23.

    For a discussion on the meaning of “sustainability” in outer space, see: Anél Ferreira-Snyman, “Outer Space Exploration and the Sustainability of the Space Environment—An Uneasy Relationship”, Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal 26, (2023), pp. 3–10.

  24. 24.

    These include (among other things) nuclear contamination, solar power satellites, manned space stations and exobiological contamination, see: Lotta Viikari, The Environmental Element in Space Law: Assessing the Present and Charting the Future, Leiden: Martinus Nijhoff, 2008, pp. 45–54 for a discussion of these environmental problems.

  25. 25.

    Ibid., p. 31.

  26. 26.

    Alessandro Cacioni, “Space Explained: How Much Space Junk Is There?”, Inmarsat, 19 December 2022, www.inmarsat.com/en/insights/corporate/2022/how-much-space-junk-is-there.html#:~:text=Based%20on%20statistical%20models%20produced,objects%20between%201mm%20to%201cm.

  27. 27.

    Utsav Mukherjee and Aravind Mokkapati, “Determining Liability for Damage Caused Due to Debris in Outer Space: Portal to a New Regime”, Proceedings of the International Institute of Space Law, 52nd Colloquium on the Law of Outer Space, 12–16 October 2009, Daejeon, Republic of Korea, p. 286.

  28. 28.

    See further: Ben Lutkevich, “Definition Kessler Syndrome”, WhatIs.com, March 2020, www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/Kessler-Syndrome.

  29. 29.

    Cacioni (Footnote 26).

  30. 30.

    Despite many space objects re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere in a carefully guided manner, there have been several reports (also in recent years) of objects making unguided return trips to Earth. For examples of these incidents see: Anél Ferreira-Snyman, “Environmental Responsibility for Space Debris”, in (Footnote 16), pp. 397–399. Although the chances that falling space debris could hit someone on Earth are generally fairly low, the potential environmental hazards, especially those caused by radioactive material or toxic fuels, are obvious.

  31. 31.

    IH Ph Diedericks-Verschoor and V Kopal, An Introduction to Space Law, Alphen aan den Rijn: Kluwer International, 2008, p. 127.

  32. 32.

    Francis Lyall and Paul B Larsen, Space Law: A Treatise, London: Routledge, 2020, p. 271.

  33. 33.

    Viikari (Footnote 24), p. 55.

  34. 34.

    Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects (LIAB), 1971, GA Res 2777 (XXVI).

  35. 35.

    Diedericks-Verschoor and Kopal (Footnote 31), p. 128; Viikari (Footnote 24), pp. 69–70.

  36. 36.

    In this regard Diedericks-Verschoor and Kopal (Footnote 31), p. 128, state that “it is questionable whether a state will be liable for a satellite which has ceased functioning or has disintegrated.”; conversely, Viikari (Footnote 24), pp. 69–70 is of the view that “there seems to be no great difficulty in designating inactive satellites [as] … space objects.”.

  37. 37.

    Viikari (Footnote 24), p. 70.

  38. 38.

    Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee, “IADC Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines”, March 2020, p. 6, https://orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov/library/iadc-space-debris-guidelines-revision-2.pdf.

  39. 39.

    Kai-Uwe Schrogl, “Space and Its Sustainable Uses” in (Footnote 11), p. 605.

  40. 40.

    Schrogl (Footnote 39), p. 606; Schrogl attributes the reluctance of states to adopt binding regulations concerning space debris mainly to the following two reasons: firstly, the space powers were unwilling to develop rules jointly with states that were not involved in space activities and which lacked the technical and engineering knowledge to discuss the issue competently beyond a political level; secondly, the space powers were hesitant to bind themselves legally as space mitigation measures would necessarily require certain technical modifications to launchers and spacecraft that could result in additional costs.

  41. 41.

    Gabriella Catalano Sgrosso, International Space Law, (Florence: LoGisma, 2011), p. 132; Viikari (Footnote 24), pp. 59–60.

  42. 42.

    Steven Wöll, “Exceptional Spaces: Pop-Cultural Debris and the Spatial (Re)Construction of American Conceptualism in Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity”, Polish Journal for American Studies 11, (2017), p. 210 points out that “[i]n Gravity, anthropocentric significance is also generated as Space is populated (or, from an environmental perspective, contaminated) with the technological artifacts of human civilization”.

  43. 43.

    Martyn J Fogg, “The Ethical Dimensions of Space Settlement”, Space Policy 16, (2000), p. 207.

  44. 44.

    Ibid.

  45. 45.

    Christopher J Newman and Mark Williamson, “Space Sustainability: Reframing the Debate”, Space Policy 46, (2018), p. 35.

  46. 46.

    UNOOSA, “Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space”, (2010), www.unoosa.org/pdf/publications/st_space_49E.pdf.

  47. 47.

    Lyall and Larson (Footnote 32), pp. 274–275.

  48. 48.

    UN General Assembly Resolution 62/217 of 22 December 2007.

  49. 49.

    See: Preface to the “Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines” (Footnote 46), p. iv. The following guidelines should be considered during the mission planning, design, manufacture and operational phases of spacecraft and launch vehicle orbital stages: Guideline 1: Limit debris released through normal operations; Guideline 2: Minimise the potential risk for break-ups during operational stages; Guideline 3: Limit the probability of accidental collision in orbit; Guideline 4: Avoid intentional destruction and other harmful activities; Guideline 5: Minimise potential for post-mission break-ups resulting from stored energy; Guideline 6: Limit the long-term presence of spacecraft and launch vehicle orbital stages in the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) region after the end of their mission; and Guideline 7: Limit the long-term interference of spacecraft and launch vehicle orbital stages with the geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) region after the end of their mission. See further: the Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines, pp. 2–4 for a description of the contents of the individual guidelines.

  50. 50.

    See preface to the “Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines” (Footnote 46), p. iv.

  51. 51.

    See Lyall and Larson (Footnote 32), p. 275; Mukherjee and Mokkapati (Footnote 27), p. 287.

  52. 52.

    Schrogl (Footnote 39), p. 605.

  53. 53.

    Joyeeta Chatterjee, “Legal Issues Relating to Unauthorised Space Debris Remediation”, Proceedings of the International Institute of Space Law, 57, (2014), p. 15 identifies the following types of remediation activities: “retrieval of a space object from the outer space environment or from a particular orbit, repairing/servicing a space object, refuelling missions to extend the life of the space object or salvaging a space object for recycling or other purposes. On-orbit servicing and salvaging operations remediate space debris by repairing and restoring maneuverability in an object or removing it to avoid collision with a functional satellite.”.

  54. 54.

    Newman and Williamson (Footnote 45), p. 32.

  55. 55.

    “Active debris removal”, The European Space Agency, www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Space_Debris/Active_debris_removal#:~:text=Active%20Debris%20Removal%20(ADR)%20is,in%20less%20than%2025%20years.

  56. 56.

    Ibid.

  57. 57.

    For example, in 2020 the European Space Agency concluded a service contract with ClearSpace SA worth € 86.2 million to remove orbital space debris. ClearSpace will develop a robot-like spacecraft with four articulated arms to remove space debris safely. It’s first mission is planned for 2025 to remove Vespa, a second payload adapter left behind by the Vega rocket that was placed in orbit in 2013. The robotic arms will remove Vespa and move it closer to the Earth’s atmosphere to burn up and disintegrate. See “ClearSpace signs service contract with ESA to carry out the first mission to remove space debris in orbit in 2025”, ClearSpace today, 1 October 2020, https://clearspace.today/clearspace-sa-signs-service-contract-with-esa-to-carry-out-the-first-mission-to-remove-space-debris-in-orbit-in-2025/. For further examples of such technologies, including an electrodynamic tether, a harpoon and a giant net, see: Katharine Rooney, “The big space clean-up—and why it matters”, World Economic Forum, 20 May 2021, www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/05/space-junk-clean-satellite/.

  58. 58.

    Article II(1) of the Convention on Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space (REG), 1974 (RES 3235 (XXIX), determines as follows: “When a space object is launched into earth orbit or beyond, the launching State shall register the space object by means of an entry in an appropriate registry which it shall maintain. Each launching State shall inform the Secretary-General of the United Nations of the establishment of such a registry.”. If there are multiple launching states in respect of a space object, they must jointly determine who will register the object (see Article II(2)).

  59. 59.

    Newman and Williamson (Footnote 45), p. 32; Chatterjee (Footnote 53), p. 26.

  60. 60.

    Article 20 of the International Law Commission (ILC) Articles on the Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts (Report of the International Law Commission, UN General Assembly Official Records, 56th Session, Supplement No 10 (A/56/10), 29 November 2001, (ILC Articles on State Responsibility) determines that “[v]alid consent by a State to the commission of a given act by another State precludes the wrongfulness of that act in relation to the former State to the extent that the act remains within the limits of that consent.”; also see: Chatterjee (Footnote 53), pp. 26–27.

  61. 61.

    Chatterjee (Footnote 53), p. 25; on the issue of responsibility and liability of states see: Ferreira-Snyman (Footnote 30), pp. 412–419.

  62. 62.

    Newman and Williamson (Footnote 45), p. 32.

  63. 63.

    Fawaz Haroun, Shalom Ajibade, Philip Oladimeji and John Kennedy Igbozurike, “Toward the Sustainability of Outer Space: Addressing the Issue of Space Debris”, New Space 9, (2021), p. 65. In this regard, the Vice-Commander of the United States Space Force’s Space Operations Command, Major General DeAnna Burt, expressed the view that orbital removal should be undertaken by the private sector, because Government-led efforts could create concerns that the technology would also be used as weapons to disable active satellites. According to her, “[w]hen you say the military is going to develop a capability to pick up trash or pick up debris, it’s automatically seen as dual use.”; see: Jeff Foust, “Space Force backs development of commercial orbital debris removal systems”, SpaceNews, 15 September 2021, https://spacenews.com/space-force-backs-development-of-commercial-orbital-debris-removal-systems/. For a comprehensive discussion on the interrelatedness of active space removal and space weaponisation, see Matteo Frigoli, “Between Active Space Debris Removal and Space-Based Weapons: A Comprehensive Legal Approach”, in Space Security and Legal Aspects of Active Debris Removal, Studies in Space Policy, vol 16, ed. Annette Froehlich, Switzerland: Springer Nature, 2019, pp. 49–70.

  64. 64.

    Chatterjee (Footnote 53), p. 33; Marc G. Carns, “Consent not Required: Making the Case that Consent is not Required under Customary International Law for Removal of Outer Space Debris Smaller than 10 cm2”, Air Force Law Review, 77, (2017), p. 174.

  65. 65.

    Carns (Footnote 64), p. 190.

  66. 66.

    For a critical analysis of this debate see: Ferreira-Snyman (Footnote 30), pp. 402–407.

  67. 67.

    Chatterjee (Footnote 53), p. 33.

  68. 68.

    See: Michael Chatzipanagiotis, “Registration of Space Objects and Transfer of Ownership in Orbit”, German Journal for Air and Space Law 56, (2007), pp. 229–238.

  69. 69.

    See further: Carns (Footnote 64), p. 225; Annette Froehlich, “The Right to Anticipatory Self-Defence in Outer Space to Reduce Space Debris”, in (Footnote 63), pp. 71–92.

  70. 70.

    Alice Gorman, “Not All Space Debris is Junk: A Comprehensive Management Strategy for Culturally Significant Spacecraft”, 68th International Astronautics Conference, 25–29 September 2017, Adelaide, p. 2.

  71. 71.

    See further: Ferreira-Snyman (Footnote 23), pp. 1–52.

  72. 72.

    Alice Gorman, “Trash or Treasure? A Lot of Space Debris is Junk, but Some is Precious Heritage”, The Conversation, 24 September 2017, https://theconversation.com/trash-or-treasure-a-lot-of-space-debris-is-junk-but-some-is-precious-heritage-82832. Gorman defines cultural heritage as “things from the past and present, worth preserving for present and future generations”.

  73. 73.

    For example, the nations that hosted NASA tracking stations played a crucial role in the Apollo missions. See: Alice Gorman, “Look, But Don’t Touch: US Law and the Protection of Lunar Heritage”, The Conversation, 28 November 2013, https://theconversation.com/look-but-dont-touch-us-law-and-the-protection-of-lunar-heritage-20758. A more recent example is the supporting role of South Africa in NASA's Artemis programme. The South African National Space Agency (SANSA) will host one of three Nasa Lunar Exploration Ground Sites (LEGS) communication antennas at a new facility to be built in the Western Cape Province. This network of antennas (in the USA, Australia, and South Africa) will ensure that the Artemis mission control stays in contact with missions in outer space and on the Moon up to a range of two million kilometres; see Rebecca Campbell, “South Africa to have key role in supporting Nasa’s Artemis crewed Moon programme”, Creamer Media’s Engineering News, 9 November 2022, www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/south-africa-to-have-key-role-in-supporting-nasas-artemis-crewed-moon-programme-2022-11-09.

  74. 74.

    Article V. The Western term “astronaut” is used here in general to include, inter alia, Russian cosmonauts and Chinese taikonauts. The planting of the American flag during the Apollo 11 Moon landing was a mere symbolic act and the flag was intended to “signalize the first lunar landing as an historic step of all mankind that has been accomplished by the United States”. In 2020, China became the second nation to plant its flag on the surface of the Moon. It could however be argued that in addition to their national flags, states should plant the United Nations’ flag to connect all of humankind to space as the common heritage of all people; see further: Anne M. Platoff, “Where No Flag Has Gone Before: Political and Technical Aspects of Placing a Flag on the Moon”, NASA, August 1999, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/flag/flag.htm; Leonard David, “China Plants its Flag on the Moon with Chang'e 5 Lunar Lander (Photo, Video)”, Space.com, 7 December 2020, www.space.com/china-flag-on-moon-chang-e-5-lunar-landing.

  75. 75.

    Gorman (Footnote 73).

  76. 76.

    See further: Ferreira-Snyman, (n 23), pp. 1–52.

  77. 77.

    Loretta Hall, “The History of Space Debris”, Space Traffic Management Conference, (2014), p. 2.

  78. 78.

    It is interesting to note that that this is aptly depicted in the film when Stone loses her grip on a bolt whilst working on the Hubble Space Telescope in one of the scenes, and Kowalski catches it before it floats away into space.

  79. 79.

    See Mark Pontin, “Beyond Gravity: the complex quest to take out our orbital trash”, Ars Technica, 28 May 2014, https://arstechnica.com/science/2014/05/beyond-gravity-the-complex-quest-to-take-out-our-orbital-trash/.

  80. 80.

    Liza Fust, “Space Film Junkie: Orbital Debris in Wall-E, Gravity, and Space Sweepers” Kall Morris INC, 6 June 2022, https://www.kallmorris.com/columns/space-film-junkie-orbital-debris-in-wall-e-gravity-and-space-sweepers.

  81. 81.

    Pontin (Footnote 79).

  82. 82.

    Cacioni (Footnote 26).

  83. 83.

    Daryl G. Kimball, “US Commits to ASAT Ban” Arms Control Association, May 2022, www.armscontrol.org/act/2022-05/news/us-commits-asat-ban.

  84. 84.

    Idrees Ali and Steve Gorman, “Russian anti-satellite missile test endangers space station crew—NASA”, Reuters, 16 November 2021, www.reuters.com/world/us-military-reports-debris-generating-event-outer-space-2021-11-15/.

  85. 85.

    See Anthony Blinken, Secretary of State, Press statement, “Russia Conducts Destructive Anti-Satellite Missile Test”, US Department of State, 15 November 2021, www.state.gov/russia-conducts-destructive-anti-satellite-missile-test/.

  86. 86.

    Brad Carter and Mark Rigby, “A chunk of a Chinese satellite almost hit the International Space Station. They dodged it—but the space junk problem is getting worse”, Space.com, 15 November 2021, www.space.com/chinese-satellite-debris-almost-hit-international-space-station.

  87. 87.

    Pontin (Footnote 79).

  88. 88.

    Jessica West, “What kinetic ASAT testing tells us about space security governance”, Ploughshares, 17 February 2022, www.ploughshares.ca/reports/what-kinetic-asat-testing-tells-us-about-space-security-governance#:~:text=CONCLUSION,humanitarian%20impacts%20and%20arms%20racing.

  89. 89.

    NASA, “International Space Station Maneuvers Avoid Another Russian ASAT Fragment” Orbital Debris Quarterly News 26, no. 4, (December 2022), pp. 1–2.

  90. 90.

    Brett Tingley, “International Space Station fires thrusters to dodge space junk”, Space.com, 14 March 2023, www.space.com/international-space-station-dodge-space-junk-march-2023.

  91. 91.

    NASA (Footnote 89).

  92. 92.

    Sophie Lewis, “Space junk slams into International Space Station, leaving hole in robotic arm”, CBS News, 2 June 2021, www.cbsnews.com/news/space-junk-damage-international-space-station/.

  93. 93.

    David Finkleman, “The Dilemma of Space Debris”, American Scientist, www.americanscientist.org/article/the-dilemma-of-space-debris.

  94. 94.

    Ibid.

  95. 95.

    Brian Weeden, “Iridium-Cosmos Collision Fact Sheet”, Secure World Foundation, 10 November 2010, https://swfound.org/media/6575/swf_iridium_cosmos_collision_fact_sheet_updated_2012.pdf.

  96. 96.

    Pontin (Footnote 79).

  97. 97.

    Ibid.

  98. 98.

    Seth Borenstein, “Space junk raises risks for Hubble repair mission”, Phys.org, 12 May 2009, https://phys.org/news/2009-05-space-junk-hubble-mission.html.

  99. 99.

    Ibid.

  100. 100.

    Ibid.

  101. 101.

    Secure World Foundation, https://swfound.org/.

  102. 102.

    “‘Gravity’ in Real Life: Legal and Political Implications of an Accident in Space”, Secure World Foundation, 9 December 2023, https://swfound.org/events/2013/gravity-in-real-life-legal-and-political-implications-of-an-accident-in-space.

  103. 103.

    See the presentation by Dr. Darren McKnight, Integrity Applications, “‘Gravity’—Great Show, Average Physics”, 9 December 2013, https://swfound.org/media/126966/mcknight_gravity-greatshowaveragephysics.pdf.

  104. 104.

    Space Traffic Management: How to Prevent a Real Life “Gravity”, Hearing before the Subcommittee on Space, Committee on Science, Space and Technology, House of Representatives, 180th Congress, Second Session, 9 May 2014, Serial No. 113–74, www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-113hhrg88144/pdf/CHRG-113hhrg88144.pdf.

  105. 105.

    Ibid., p. 31.

  106. 106.

    See ibid., pp. 74–75 for the testimony of Brian Weeden, technical advisor for the Secure World Foundation.

  107. 107.

    Margot (Footnote 10).

  108. 108.

    Jeff Foust, “Gravity and reality” The Space Review, 7 October 2013, www.thespacereview.com/article/2376/1.

  109. 109.

    See: Footnote 30 above.

  110. 110.

    See further: Ferreira-Snyman (Footnote 30), pp. 419–426.

  111. 111.

    M. Y. S. Prasad and R. Lochan, “Common but Differentiated Responsibility—A Principle to Maintain Space Environment with Respect to Space Debris”, International Institute of Space Law, Proceedings of the 50th Colloquium on the Law of Outer Space, Hyderabad, India, 24–28 September 2007, p. 290.

  112. 112.

    For example, the African Space Policy identifies the development of space education programmes as one of its objectives, see: “African Space Policy—Towards Social, Political and Economic Integration”, https://au.int/sites/default/files/documents/37433-doc-african_space_policy_isbn_electronic_.pdf.

  113. 113.

    An empirical study by Surmeli determined that the use of science fiction films have affected students’ attitudes towards science courses positively. It was also determined that educators should use actual errors in science fiction films to correct misconceptions about, for example, outer space. See: Hikmet Surmeli, “Examination the effect of science fiction films on science education students’ attitudes towards STS course”, Procedia—Social and Behavioural Sciences 47, 2012, pp. 1012–1016.

  114. 114.

    Annette Froehlich, David Lindgren and André Siebrits, “Outer Space and Popular Culture: Untapped Potential for Space Education and Outreach”, 70th International Astronautical; Congress (IAC), Washington D.C., United States, 21–25 October, p. 2.

  115. 115.

    Quentin Cooper, “Why Gravity is junk science”, BBC, 28 October 2013, www.bbc.com/future/article/20131027-why-gravity-is-junk-science.

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  1. School of Law, University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa

    Anél Ferreira-Snyman

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    Annette Froehlich

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Ferreira-Snyman, A. (2024). “Clear Skies but with a Chance of Satellite Debris”—The Space Debris Problem as Portrayed in the Film Gravity: Fact or Fiction?. In: Froehlich, A. (eds) Outer Space and Popular Culture. Southern Space Studies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-51425-8_3

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