Satellite Collision coverage May Set Precedent

 

Thursday, Mar 05,2009, 3:54:07 PM   Click:

Satellite Collision coverage May Set Precedent Marc Jones
The insurance implications of catastrophic collisions in space was not a big worry for insurers of satellites in the past but have changed on May 10 in February, when the first collision of two satellites in orbit .

"This is the first time there was a collision in space in the 52 years since space flight began," said David Wade, space with the underwriter Atrium Space Insurance Consortium. " During this period more than 6,000 satellites have been launched and about 3500 to 4000 are still in orbit. Some have disintegrated, some have exploded. There are a lot of debris floating in there. "

The collision between a communications satellite Iridium 33, held by the Iridium communications group, and a satellite Kosmos 2251, held by the Russian Space Forces, but non-functioning, the destruction of two satellites. The incident created a cloud of debris that expansion is now orbiting the planet, which is a risk to other orbital vehicles due to the sudden increase in the chances of finding debris that d 'something else.

The incident has increased the risk management problems related to satellite insurance.

According to Ernst steilen responsible for the subscription to Munich Re, the number of launches per year has remained stable provided around 25 or more. Satellite insurance tends to be run over 12 months, he said. " Coverage of satellites in orbit will tend to be renewed every 12 months after that until the end of the operational life of the satellite, which can be up to 15 years. "

In the orbit where both satellites collide are not assured of many satellites, so there are implications not only for insurers but, according steilen. "When it comes to pollution orbital as was the case, we have always been aware of the potential risks of this kind of thing," he said. "We cover all types of potential failures of satellites, but the risk of collision is significantly smaller than other possible failures, as failures. "

Comprehensive

The risks of satellite insurance are considerable, and potentially very visible. Launch insurance must take account of the possibility of not even satellite in orbit, as the rockets have been known to experience catastrophic failures that have destroyed their payload.

Even if the satellite is safely in the proper orbit, then it faces more risks. The board failures such as inability to deploy solar panels can doom a satellite before it begins its operational life, and there are other risks such design flaws and damage caused by solar flares taken into account. The debris of a collision was not particularly serious concern for insurers, until now.

"The debris from hitting a satellite happens quite often," said Wade. "Although the exact frequency is unknown because there are many military satellites there, and they did not really report on them. But, generally speaking, some of this damage can be very small, as the remnants of a small hole in a solar panel. "

According to Wade, there are three groups of debris orbiting the Earth. The first and greatest of these is in a low orbit, about 200 to 2000 km. The next group arrives at approximately 20,000 km and the last group even further, in geostationary orbit around the planet about 36,000 km from the Earth's surface.

Debris the size varies in large parts of the small rockets, like the spots of paint. But whatever the size of the object, the effects can be catastrophic because of the speed involved. The Iridium Kosmos collision was estimated at 7.3 miles per second, and some satellites in orbit at a speed much greater.

Who pays?

The question of responsibility for the collision is difficult, according to Wade, that the collision sets a number of precedents. The damage caused by collisions in space May not be as frequent, but it has happened before. In 1996, the military reconnaissance satellite French Cerise was hit by a piece of space debris, in this case of an Ariane rocket, which was also launched by the French. The impact left severely damaged satellite.

In this case, the collision of two vehicles belonging to two different countries, where the complications come in. There is a single international treaty that deals with such incidents, the United Nations Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Collisions. But it has never been invoked.

The Convention was drafted in 1972 and indicates that the country is launching something into orbit while the causes of damage, whether on land, the sky, in another country, the launch of State is responsible.

There were only two possible situations at the convention could be invoked. In 1978, a Soviet nuclear satellite called Cosmos 954 fell from orbit earlier than expected, and the dispersal of radioactive debris on northern Canada. The Soviet government paid $ 3 million to the Canadian government for the cost of cleaning.

The second incident came in 1979 when the Skylab space station out of orbit and disintegrated, spreading debris in central Australia. The Australian government has considered making a claim, but in the end did not.

Liability issues aside, there remains the problem of space debris, which is still in orbit. As Wade pointed out, the detritus of iridium-Kosmos collision remain in orbit for years if not decades.

"To some extent, insurers must grin and bear," he said. "They can follow the debris and, if necessary, the owners of the satellites can initiate evasive maneuvers, but that uses more fuel than normal and may reduce the lifespan of satellites. I think we'll see more collisions, but it is hoped that the gap between the satellites. Overall the risk posed by a strike is lower than many other risks in the insurance by satellite, but it is still useful to take into account risk management. "

The Atrium Space Insurance Consortium was established in 2007 as a specialist underwriting on launches of satellites in orbit and insurance. The consortium is led by Atrium Underwriting Group Ltd. 's Lloyd's Syndicate 609, with other members as the Lloyd's syndicates.

(By Marc Jones, London editor: marc.jones @ ambest.com)

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