Rome Newsroom, Oct 19, 2020 / 05:00 am
With more and more satellites orbiting the Earth, measures need to be taken to prevent collisions in outer space that give rise to dangerous "space debris," a Holy See representative has warned the United Nations.
Archbishop Gabriele Caccia said Friday that preventative measures within a "globally-agreed framework" were needed to protect outer space due to the "massive increase in use and dependence" on satellites.
"Despite the unending outward dimension of the space environment, the region just above us is actually becoming relatively crowded and subject to increasing commercial activities," Caccia, the apostolic nuncio and permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, said Oct. 16.
"So many satellites are being launched to provide internet access today, for example, that astronomers are finding that these risk obscuring the study of stars," the archbishop noted.