ORBITAL DEBRIS UPDATE: US joins effort to draw up space ‘code of conduct’.

The United States pledged Tuesday to join an EU-led effort to develop a space “code of conduct” that would set out rules for orbiting spacecraft and for mitigating the growing problem of debris.

“The long-term sustainability of our space environment is at serious risk from space debris and irresponsible actors,” said a statement from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

“In response to these challenges, the United States has decided to join with the European Union and other nations to develop an International Code of Conduct for Outer Space Activities.”

Such a code should “help maintain the long-term sustainability, safety, stability, and security of space by establishing guidelines for the responsible use of space,” Clinton added, noting that work on the code was just beginning.

The proposal was put forth to the Conference on Disarmament by the European Union in 2009 just days after a disused Russian military satellite and a US communications satellite owned by the Iridium company collided.

A draft code on civilian and military use, which includes pledges on the integrity of orbiting space objects, had been previously approved by EU ministers in late 2008.

Here’s a piece that Rob Merges and I wrote for The Environmental Law Reporter last year. And here’s something I wrote in Popular Mechanics on space weaponry.