Technical
IADC Guidelines
The Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee guidelines representing international best practices for debris mitigation.
The IADC Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines are the internationally recognized best practices for reducing the creation of space debris, incorporated into regulatory frameworks worldwide.
IADC Members
- ASI (Italy)
- CNES (France)
- CNSA (China)
- CSA (Canada)
- DLR (Germany)
- ESA
- ISRO (India)
- JAXA (Japan)
- KARI (South Korea)
- NASA (USA)
- Roscosmos (Russia)
- UKSA (UK)
Key Guidelines
- Limit debris released during normal operations
- Minimize potential for on-orbit break-ups
- Post-mission disposal (25-year rule)
- Collision avoidance
- Design for passivation
Regulatory Adoption The guidelines are incorporated into:
- UN COPUOS Guidelines
- ISO 24113 standard
- National space laws
- EU Space Act
Evolution The IADC guidelines are regularly updated to reflect technological advances and orbital environment changes. The EU Space Act goes beyond IADC in some areas (5-year vs. 25-year deorbit).