Orbital Debt: Space Debris and the New Space Economy’s Cleanup Bill
Space is large, but useful orbit is not. The regions around Earth used for communications, navigation, weather forecasting, military surveillance, disaster response, climate observation and scientific research are not an empty cosmic attic into which machines can be discarded without consequence. They are becoming a working layer of civilisation. That layer is growing more valuable as it becomes more crowded. Cheaper launch, mass-produced satellites and commercial constellations have changed the rhythm of space activity. The older space age revolved around a comparatively small number of costly national missions. The emerging one depends upon repetition: more launches, more spacecraft, shorter replacement cycles and services expected to function continuously. Industrial systems produce waste, but waste in orbit does not sit in a landfill. A failed satellite continues moving at several kilometres per second. A spent rocket stage may remain intact for decades or break apart after an ...