Zero Debris Week 2026

8 Sept 2026, 08:00 → 11 Sept 2026, 18:00 UTC

AEE, CREA Building

Join us in Seville for the third Zero Debris Week, where the Zero Debris community will come together to tackle one of the space sector’s most pressing challenges.

Engage with fellow experts and decision-makers as we explore the high-level obstacles facing the Zero Debris initiative and work collaboratively to identify practical solutions.

 

The Zero Debris Week will consist of two professional events:

The 3rd Zero Debris Future Symposium

For senior decision-makers, high-level representatives and participants with relevant non-technical expertise, including regulatory, policy, legal and commercial matters.

A workshop of the Zero Debris Technical Forum

For technical experts and specialists, including operators, researchers, and innovators, who can actively contribute to in‑depth discussions on technical solutions, current gaps, and key enablers required to achieve the Zero Debris targets.

 

A number of social activities and opportunities to network will also be organised throughout the week.

 

Registration Deadline

The deadline to register for the Zero Debris Week is July 1st 2026. 

 

Please note that separate registrations are required for the Zero Debris Future Symposium and the Zero Debris Technical Sessions

As there are limited places available, registrations will be moderated. Participants will be notified on the outcome of their registration by July 3rd. In the case of over-subscription, we will maintain a back-up list of registrations.

 

Programme overview

3^rd Zero Debris Future Symposium | September 8-9

Join the third edition of the Zero Debris Future Symposium for high-level discussions on the non-technical aspects of the Zero Debris initiative, including:

1. Structuring the Zero Debris Community for Enhanced Impact
2. Beyond and after Zero Debris: What Role for the Community?
3. The inaugural workshops of the first Policy Working Groups

_{Start time: 13:30 on 08/09/26
End time: 12:30 on 09/09/26}

 

Zero Debris Technical Sessions | September 9-11

Join us for a new series of technical sessions dedicated to advancing the Zero Debris initiative. Participants will review the outcomes of the mapping and prioritisation tasks for the Booklet and share pitches highlighting cutting-edge technologies. There will also be two focused working sessions: one on technical White Papers and another on the development of a shared database of technologies supporting the Zero Debris effort.

A dedicated training session on outreach and expanding the international reach of the ZD Booklet will help strengthen engagement across the community.

The Technical Sessions will conclude with B2B meetings, offering participants the opportunity to connect, exchange perspectives, and explore new collaborations.

_{Start time: 14:00 on 09/09/26
End time: 13:00 on 11/09/26}

 

Limited Places Available 

We invite organizations to coordinate and send a limited number of representatives who can actively contribute to shaping the future of space sustainability. Your expertise and input are invaluable to achieving our zero debris goals by 2030.

In the case of over-subscription, ESA will strive to invite a diversity of organisations to participate in the ZD Week. ESA reserves the right to prioritise attendance based on previous involvement in the ZD Charter and the ZD Technical Booklet.

 

Zero Debris Week Privacy Notice - DPNR 3223.pdf

Tuesday 8 September

Zero Debris Future Symposium #3: Opening Remarks

Zero Debris Future Symposium #3: Overview of the Zero Debris achievements

Zero Debris Future Symposium #3: Plenary session 1 - Structuring the Zero Debris Community for Enhanced Impact

16:00 Coffee Break

Zero Debris Future Symposium #3: Plenary session 2 - Beyond and after Zero Debris: What Role for the Community?

Zero Debris Future Symposium #3: Wrap-up & Closing of Day 1

Zero Debris Future Symposium #3: Zero Debris Signature Ceremony & Networking Reception

18:30 Social Event

Wednesday 9 September

08:30 Arrival & Welcome Coffee

Zero Debris Future Symposium #3: Welcome Remarks

Zero Debris Future Symposium #3: Parallel Sessions - Inaugural Workshops of the first Policy Working Groups

11:15 Coffee Break

Zero Debris Future Symposium #3: Wrap-up on the Policy Workshops

Zero Debris Future Symposium #3: Closing Remarks for the Zero Debris Future Symposium 3

12:30 Lunch Break

Zero Debris Technical Sessions: Introduction

Summary of the mapping task from all technical domains.

Zero Debris Technical Sessions: Mapping task summary

Summary of the mapping task from all technical domains.

16:15 Coffee Break

Zero Debris Technical Sessions: Database Updates

Summary of the mapping task from all technical domains.

Visit to Seville

Thursday 10 September

Zero Debris Technical Sessions: Prioritisation Task Finalisation

Summary of the mapping task from all technical domains.

10:30 Coffee Break

Zero Debris Technical Sessions: Lightning Talks I

1 BubbleBee Swarm: A Passive Omnidirectional Architecture for Untrackable Debris Capture with Centralised Refurbishment

BubbleBee is a passive debris capture architecture targeting the 1–10 cm untrackable population. Geodesic absorber units tumble continuously to present omnidirectional cross-section, with multi-layer Whipple shielding protecting nested density-gradient gelatin matrices that decelerate hypervelocity impacts without fragmentation.

Units operate as a coordinated swarm, distributing collection across wider debris fields. The principal claimed novelty is a four-strategy shield lifecycle framework — patch, flip, restack, re-polish — projected to extend component life 5–10× through robotic refurbishment at centralised servicing depots.

The architecture supports §2.3 and complements §3.4. We seek hypervelocity validation partnerships with impact-testing research groups. US provisional patent 63/905,318.

Speaker: Jeffery Boortz (The Human Ai Innovation Commons, Inc.)

2 Autonomous and Propellant-Free Deorbit Devices at PERSEI Space

PERSEI Space is a deep-tech start-up which develops autonomous, propellant-free deorbit devices solutions. The technology behind these devices is the electrodynamic tether, a long conductive tape that, once deployed in orbit, interacts with the LEO environment (ionosphere and magnetic field) to generate a propellant-less deorbiting force.

Deorbit devices based on this technology are autonomous and capable of operating as deorbit and propulsion systems, operating at altitudes up to 1,200 kilometres.

Jesús Tejeda, CEO of PERSEI Space and Technical Coordinator of the ESA Zero Debris Technical Domain 2, presents the company’s deorbiting products and the first in-orbit demonstration scheduled for 2027.

Speaker: Jesús Manuel Muñoz Tejeda (PERSEI Space)

3 Trusted Data for Zero Debris: Driving Responsible Space Operations

Moving towards zero-debris operations requires turning policy ambition into practical, day-to-day capability. In this talk, we will share how accurate optical tracking, rapid data delivery, and independent verification can support collision avoidance, anomaly response, and accountability across the mission lifecycle. Using real operational scenarios, we will show how trusted STM data reduces uncertainty, limits false alerts, and enables evidence-based decisions under increasing traffic and regulatory pressure. We also reflect on how these capabilities contribute to European autonomy in space surveillance and support a Zero Debris future that is measurable, enforceable, and scalable.

Speaker: AGNIESZKA SYBILSKA (Sybilla Technologies)

4 AI-Driven On-Orbit Visual Intelligence for Space Traffic Surveillance

OrbitArch is developing an edge-deployable AI system integrating computer vision models with camera-based hardware for real-time on-orbit object detection and characterisation. Our models, trained for the space environment, enable satellites to autonomously identify, track, and assess proximity objects, including debris and resident space objects, without ground-in-the-loop latency.
This capability directly addresses gaps in space traffic surveillance: current solutions rely on ground-based radar with limited revisit rates. On-orbit visual intelligence provides continuous, high-resolution situational awareness at the asset level, scalable across LEO constellations.
OrbitArch is hardware-integration-ready, with models fully tested and camera integration underway.

Speakers: Naman Chawla, Ms Sachi Patel (Chief Operating Officer)

5 LeoLabs' services in LEO: advancing space safety and sustainability

LeoLabs has built the world’s largest commercially owned object catalog and advanced space operations platform for LEO.
This paper will present how Leolabs services and infrastructure actively contribute to global space traffic coordination. It will focus on our ability to follow high standards for Space Traffic Management and provide a data that is accurate, low-latency, continuous and ubiquitous. The paper will also highlight how Leolabs contributes to the progressive achievement of ESA’s Zero Debris charter targets for 2030, in particular its capacity to grow with the rising space congestion expanding its radar network and enhancing space traffic management supporting technologies.

Speaker: Sylvain Delattre (LEOLABS)

6 CHEOPS Adaptation to the Zero Debris Era

As the entity responsible for the operations of the CHEOPS mission, the Spanish institute of Aerospace Technology (INTA) is developing an upgrade to the satellite’s end-of-life strategy, per ESA request, to exceed current expectations despite beginning the mission before the new debris mitigation standards.
While the original disposal concept targeted 25 years, the new controlled re-entry strategy, aimed at Point Nemo, achieves re-entry in only a few months after the end of the mission.
CHEOPS demonstrates how legacy missions can adapt to the Zero Debris approach, minimizing orbital debris and re-entry risk and also contribute this experience to future missions.

Speaker: Anthony Gustavo Maldonado

7 Hosted Payload Standardisation as a Scalable Lever for Zero Debris

Hosted payloads offer a structural pathway to reduce debris generation by maximizing the utility of existing space assets. By embedding secondary payloads within already planned missions, they avoid the need for dedicated spacecraft, thereby reducing launch frequency, collision risk, and end-of-life objects.

This contribution presents a standardised payload-hosting interface enabling interoperable integration across heterogeneous platforms (satellites, OTVs, stations). The approach decouples payload development from spacecraft design, reducing integration complexity, cost, and timelines.

We argue that large-scale adoption of hosted payloads - supported by interface standardisation and appropriate policy incentives - can significantly contribute to debris mitigation by design.

Speaker: Theophile Lagraulet (SpaceLocker)

12:30 Lunch Break

Zero Debris Technical Sessions: White Papers

Summary of the mapping task from all technical domains.

15:00 Coffee Break

Zero Debris Technical Sessions: Lightning Talks II

8 High-Fidelity Hypervelocity Impact Simulations for Advancing Space Debris Breakup Models

Space debris represents a growing threat to operational satellites in LEO. Beyond a critical object density, collisions can trigger a self-sustaining fragmentation cascade. The primary contributors to this debris population are satellite breakup events caused by hypervelocity impacts. Owing to the irreversible consequences of orbital debris, significant effort has been devoted to developing breakup models. The NASA Standard Breakup Model relies on simplified scaling laws calibrated using impact experiments and historical observations. This study evaluates their validity through comparison with high-fidelity FEM simulations and identifies discrepancies in fragment statistics, highlighting conditions where physics-based simulations provide reliable predictions than empirical models.

Speaker: Pavan Kalyan Nanduri (Postdoc, LSMS, EPFL)

9 From Surveillance to Coordination: enabling Space Traffic Management

GMV is the leading European industry in SST and contributes to the Zero Debris vision through advanced Space Surveillance and Traffic Coordination capabilities, combining multi-source data curation, space object cataloguing, sensors scheduling and tasking, collision avoidance automation, and coordination frameworks. Building upon operational expertise with ESA, EU SST and others, GMV develops technologies for autonomous conjunction assessment, manoeuvre coordination, Rules of the Road implementation, secure data sharing, and scalable management of large catalogues. GMV also advances R&D in heterogeneous data curation and data fusion, attitude estimation, covariance realism, and improved object characterisation for enhanced collision risk assessment and operational decision-making.

Speaker: MARIA ANTONIA RAMOS PRADA (GMV)

10 Additive Manufacturing for Controlled Atmospheric Re-Entry: Designing Space Hardware to Leave No Trace

Additive Manufacturing enables unprecedented control over geometry, material distribution and structural efficiency. Beyond lightweighting, these capabilities can be leveraged to design spacecraft components that safely and completely demise during atmospheric re-entry. CATEC proposes a Design-for-Demise approach combining DfAM methodologies, advanced metallic materials, lattice structures and high-fidelity characterization techniques to enhance end-of-life disposal performance while maintaining operational requirements in orbit. By embedding debris mitigation criteria at the design stage, additive manufacturing can become a key enabler of the Zero Debris vision, reducing the long-term environmental footprint of future space missions

Speaker: Antonio Periñán (CATEC)

11 Project DEXTER: Debris EXtraction Tools for Extraterrestrial Recycling

In space recycling offers a sustainable solution to orbital debris. DEXTER, a four year EIC Pathfinder project launched in 2025, is developing technologies for harvesting, processing, and reusing inactive spacecraft. The modular robotic tools, vacuum compatible laser cutting and welding, and advanced sensing will enable semiautonomous extraction of debris materials, fostering a circular space economy by turning a hazard into a useful resource. DEXTER explores converting scrap aluminium into propellant and will demonstrate a prototype refuellable thruster to support long duration debris removal missions and future in orbit manufacturing. It will also demonstrate repurposing of recovered materials into new structures.

Speaker: Jenny Kingston (Cranfield University)

Zero Debris Technical Sessions: Outreach Training Session

Summary of the mapping task from all technical domains.

17:30 Networking Event

Friday 11 September

Zero Debris Technical Sessions: Next Steps

Summary of the mapping task from all technical domains.

Zero Debris Technical Sessions: Wrap up

Summary of the mapping task from all technical domains.

10:00 Coffee Break

B2B Meetings

13:00 Lunch Break