Space Debris Re-entries and Civil Aviation Safety: A Systematic Literature Review
Abstract
This study examines the relationship between space debris re-entries and civil aviation safety through a systematic literature review approach. Within the scope of the analysis, 25 sources addressing re-entry risk, airspace management, space traffic management (STM), governance, and sustainability dimensions were systematically reviewed. The findings indicate that the existing literature predominantly focuses on the identification of physical hazards, probabilistic risk modeling, and re-entry prediction; however, the operational impacts on civil air traffic, STM–ATM integration, and binding international regulatory frameworks remain relatively underexplored. The reviewed studies demonstrate that, although uncontrolled re-entries appear as low-probability events when considered individually, they are evolving into a systemic risk class due to the increasing launch rate, the proliferation of mega-constellations, and the growing density of air traffic corridors. In particular, airspace closures implemented due to large uncertainty windows are observed to generate not only safety benefits but also delays, route extensions, increased fuel consumption, and economic costs. Keyword frequency analysis reveals that the terms “space debris,” “re-entry,” “aviation safety,” “risk assessment,” and “airspace management” are dominant, whereas governance- and integration-oriented terms appear with lower frequency. As a result, this study recommends defining re-entry risks as a distinct safety category for aviation, developing dynamic risk-based airspace management solutions, and strengthening STM–ATM integration frameworks that support real-time data sharing.