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Europe seeks solutions to remedy increase in space debris

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Europe seeks solutions to remedy increase in space debris
This article was originally published in Spanish

Several EU countries, such as Germany and France, already have space laws, but Brussels will present the first European Space Law in the coming months.

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More and more satellites are being sent to space. Most of them move in what is known as low Earth orbit, about 1,000 kilometres from Earth.

One of the reasons for this increase is the growth in the uses of satellites, the more traditional ones such as meteorological or military, can now also be used to provide internet to remote places.

“The space race is growing and growing,” Gisela Süss of the European Space Agency (ESA) told Euronews.

According to ESA data, there are some 12,500 satellites in Earth orbit. “Now, for example, we have constellations being launched into space from the United States, and it is increasingly becoming a business as well,” she said at the European Space Forum, held on 24-25 June in Brussels.

This has made it increasingly ‘interesting’ for private companies to send satellites into space, says Süss. She refers, for example, to projects such as SpaceX’s Starlink or Amazon’s Kuiper. Starlink currently has around 6,000 devices in orbit in various constellations, while Kuiper expects to add around 2,300 when the project is deployed.

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More and more junk in orbit

The problem comes when the machines stop working, break down or collide with an object. In the past, satellites were unprotected against this type of incident, partly because it was difficult to modify their route, but now companies are seeking to minimise risks.

“All our satellites will have active propulsion systems, which means we will be able to manoeuvre them to avoid any collisions,” explains Jordi Casanova, from Amazon’s Kuiper Project.

In addition, the satellites will have “a specific type of shield so that, in the event of a small collision, the satellite elements will be protected”.

This is one of the measures to alleviate a problem that the European Space Agency believes threatens our future in space. Right now, there are some 2,700 devices in orbit that no longer work.

Added to this is space debris, made up of parts of old satellites or other materials created by humans and launched into space. ESA monitors some 35,000 pieces of debris, although it is estimated that there are millions of fragments measuring less than ten centimetres. These pieces orbit at high speed and can collide with and damage other devices.

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To prevent their proliferation, the agency has launched its Zero Waste Charter. “The aim of this charter is to move towards zero by 2030,” says Süss, although the plan is “non-binding”. ESA also has measures in place to de-orbit satellites that no longer work, such as a robot that captures them.

Towards a new European Space Law

Several MEPs and experts have so far defined space as “the Wild West”. But years ago, the European Commission set out to regulate what happens beyond the Earth.

The need was born to create space legislation in what the European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton called a “true single market”.

Several EU countries, such as Germany and France, already have space laws, but Brussels will present the first European Space Law in the coming months.

The proposed law was scheduled to be presented this spring, but its presentation has been delayed.

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According to the European Commission, the proposal will take into account three pillars, including the security of satellite navigation, the protection of EU infrastructures against cyber-attacks and the development of the European space sector as a “major enabler of services”.

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Kilauea displays lava fountains for the 37th time since its eruption began last year

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Kilauea displays lava fountains for the 37th time since its eruption began last year

HONOLULU (AP) — The on-and-off eruption that’s been dazzling residents and visitors on Hawaii’s Big Island for nearly a year resumed Tuesday as Kilauea volcano sent fountains of lava soaring 400 feet (122 meters) into the air.

The molten rock was confined within Kilauea’s summit caldera inside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, the U.S. Geological Survey said. No homes were threatened.

It’s the 37th time Kilauea has shot lava since last December, when the current eruption began.

The latest lava display was preceded by sporadic spattering and overflows that began Friday. Each eruptive episode has lasted about a day or less. The volcano has paused for at least a few days in between.

In some cases, Kilauea’s lava towers have soared as high as skyscrapers. The volcano has generated such tall fountains in part because magma — which holds gases that are released as it rises — has been traveling to the surface through narrow, pipelike vents.

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Kilauea is on Hawaii Island, the largest of the Hawaiian archipelago. It’s about 200 miles (322 kilometers) south of the state’s largest city, Honolulu, which is on Oahu.

It’s one of the world’s most active volcanoes and one of six active volcanoes in Hawaii.

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Russia warns it may reject US-Ukraine peace plan if it fails to uphold Alaska summit ‘understandings’

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Russia warns it may reject US-Ukraine peace plan if it fails to uphold Alaska summit ‘understandings’

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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov suggested Moscow could reject the White House’s latest Ukraine peace deal framework if it doesn’t uphold the “spirit and letter” of the understandings reached at the August Alaska summit between President Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.

Lavrov said at a news conference Tuesday that Russia is awaiting the updated version of the Trump administration’s latest peace plan aimed at ending the nearly four-year war.

He warned that if the terms of the “key understandings” are “extinguished” then the situation would become “fundamentally different.”

Russia has maintained its maximalist demands in negotiations, insisting Ukraine be barred from joining NATO and required to give up the rest of the Donbas as part of any peace deal.

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RUSSIA BOMBARDS KYIV, KILLING AT LEAST 6, AS TRUMP PEACE PLAN MOVES FORWARD

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov delivers a speech for heads of diplomatic missions accredited in Russia in Moscow, Russia, Sept. 19, 2022. (Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool/AP Photo)

John Hardie, the deputy director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Russia Program, told Fox News Digital Moscow’s intransigence over the past 10 months has been the main obstacle to Trump’s diplomatic efforts.

“The United States has really shot itself in the foot by kind of flip-flopping between strategies. One month you’re trying to pressure the Russians and saying they’re the obstacle to peace. The next minute you’re trying to, you know, force their terms on Kyiv,” said Hardie. 

“What we really need is sustained military support for Ukraine and economic pressure on Russia, and Putin has to realize that neither the Ukrainian military nor Western, especially U.S., resolve, are going to falter.”

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Emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire after a Russian attack in Kyiv, Ukraine Sept. 7, 2025. (Efrem Lukatsky/AP Photo)

Former CIA station chief Dan Hoffman told “The Brian Kilmeade Show” Tuesday he remains skeptical about an end to the war, arguing the United States lacks the leverage to compel Moscow to halt its invasion.

NATO JETS SCRAMBLED AMID RUSSIA’S LARGEST DRONE ATTACK ON UKRAINE

“Vladimir Putin, his strategic objective has always been to overthrow the democratically elected government of Ukraine. He’ll engage in negotiations, but he does it to ensure that he’s asserting the primacy of Russia in his self-designated sphere of influence,” said Hoffman. “I just don’t see any evidence that Russia is going to pause in their relentless attacks on Ukraine.”

Ukrainian soldiers from the 115th Brigade Mortar Unit conduct mortar training as members of the Anti-UAV unit test an FPV drone inhibitor in Lyman, Ukraine. (Jose Colon/Anadolu via Getty Images)

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Ukraine agreed Tuesday to a peace deal to end the war with Russia, but some details still need to be finalized, a U.S. official told Fox News.

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U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll met with Russian officials in Abu Dhabi Monday and Tuesday to discuss the framework for a Ukraine peace deal. The U.S. official said a Ukrainian delegation was also in Abu Dhabi and in contact with Driscoll and his team.

Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin contributed to this report

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Hungary’s Orbán looks to meet Putin in Moscow amid Ukraine deal talks

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Hungary’s Orbán looks to meet Putin in Moscow amid Ukraine deal talks

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Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will travel to Moscow on Friday to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to media reports.

The information came from Hungarian government sources who were involved in the preparations of the trip, according to investigative central European outlet VSquare.

The Hungarian government has not confirmed the visit at this time, with Budapest saying it would inform the public about Orbán’s programme in due time.

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The agenda for the meeting is not yet known. But Orbán has maintained ties to Putin since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and the two leaders have kept in regular touch, meeting in person three times since early 2022.

The Hungarian premier has repeatedly stated he was in favour of an immediate ceasefire and peace talks to end the war in Ukraine. Over the weekend, Orbán called on the European Union to support Washington’s peace efforts and engage in direct negotiations with Russia.

‘”Europeans must immediately and unconditionally support the peace initiative of the President of the United States,” Orbán said in a letter sent to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Saturday.

“In addition to supporting the US president, we must, without delay, launch autonomous and direct diplomatic negotiations with Russia,” he added.

Europeans ‘prefer to continue the war,’ Orbán says

Hungary is one of the few European countries that imports large quantities of Russian oil and gas, despite the European Union’s efforts to decouple from Moscow’s fossil fuels.

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During a visit to Washington in November, Orbán secured exemptions from Washington’s secondary tariffs targeting Russia’s oil exporters Rosneft and Lukoil.

Addressing US President Donald Trump, Orbán also blamed the European Union for what he said was its support of the war.

“Your peace efforts are splendid, but the problem is Brussels, the Europeans. They prefer to continue the war, because they still think Ukraine can win on the front line,” Orbán said.

Earlier, Trump announced direct talks with Putin in Budapest, only for the meeting to be called off by Washington, citing a lack of agreement with Moscow.

Following the leak of the US-Russia 28-point plan last week, said to be strongly in favour of Moscow, Ukrainian and European representatives have met with their US counterparts for further talks, followed by a counterproposal offering more guarantees for Ukraine.

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