Insurers Balk at New Coverage for Space Launches

Insurers Balk at New Coverage for Space Launches
A Russian Soyuz-2.1a rocket with a Fregat upper stage and 38 satellites from 18 countries blasts off from a launchpad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Russia, on March 22, 2021. Russian space agency Roscosmos/Handout via Reuters
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An ever-swelling amount of space debris is threatening satellites that hover around Earth, making insurers leery of offering coverage to the devices that transmit texts, maps, videos, and scientific data, industry sources said.

Thousands of new satellites are being launched into areas where orbital rubbish has been accumulating since early space missions nearly 65 years ago. The surging collision risks have left the handful of insurers that offer satellite coverage pulling back or exiting the market, executives and analysts said.