Phys.org May 25, 2020
According to a team of researchers in the US (Middlebury College, University of Colorado) the current methods of capturing debris or deorbiting old satellites might motivate operators to launch more satellites—further crowding low-Earth orbit, increasing collision risk, and raising costs because they don’t change the incentives for operators. Instead, the researchers propose an international agreement to charge operators “orbital-use fees” for every satellite put into orbit. Orbital use fees would also increase the long-run value of the space industry. It could be straight-up fees or tradeable permits, and they could also be orbit-specific since satellites in different orbits produce varying collision risks. Most important, the fee for each satellite would be calculated to reflect the cost to the industry of putting another satellite into orbit, including projected current and future costs of additional collision risk and space debris production. In this model, what matters is that satellite operators are paying the cost of the collision risk imposed on other operators…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE
A computer-generated image representing space debris as could be seen from high Earth orbit… Credit: NASA