Conference warned of space junk falling to earth

Nandasiri Jasentuliyan, president of the Paris-based International Institute of Space Law, said there are currently more than 2,000 satellites orbiting the Earth. "You spend millions of dollars putting up a satellite," he told the opening of the Space Law Conference 2001. "You don't want it to be hit by something."

Jasentuliyan urged formation of an international panel of experts to come up with guidelines for the commercial use of space. Singapore Attorney General Chan Sek Keong told the conference the planned dumping of Russia's Mir space station into the South Pacific next week is a glaring example of the lack of a legal regime to protect the environment from "pollution by space objects."

"All nations have a common stake in the resources found within the province of space," Chan said, describing the realm as "a common heritage of mankind."

(la/dpa)