Russia proposes global space monitoring system

The early warning system would track both “natural and artificial” threats, Roscosmos boss Yuri Borisov told RT

Russia has floated the idea of creating a global space monitoring system to provide early warning about celestial threats, Yury Borisov, the head of Russian space agency Roscosmos, has revealed.

The proposal was made during a two-day summit of the space agency chiefs of the BRICS member states in Moscow, Borisov told RT on the sidelines of the event on Friday.

“The Russian proposal to create a global space monitoring system to determine threats, from both natural and artificial objects, has sparked genuine interest. We’re talking about protection from debris, asteroids,” the space boss explained. 

The proposed system would not be limited to BRICS states only, as creating it would require the joint effort of many countries around the world, Borisov suggested.

“Such a system can be built only as a global system, since a lot of sensors are needed on the ground all around the globe, as well as space components to ensure reliability for decision making in case of close encounters with any dangerous objects,” he stressed.

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The system would involve a “joint informational environment,” with participants contributing the readings from installations located in their countries and receiving in return access to the aggregated data from the whole project. 

“The system is an open one, we are not seeking to seclude ourselves. We will call upon all the nations that will deem it possible to participate to join the system, and we will accept them,” Borisov said. 

The official also spoke about the summit itself, hailing the event as an important milestone for the group in the field of space cooperation. The BRICS member states are expected to adopt a joint declaration on the matter during the summit of leaders in September, Borisov revealed, a statement that will reaffirm the group’s commitment to peaceful exploration of space and rejection of it being militarized.

“Almost all the participants of our forum have already confirmed their commitment to making such a statement,” he added.