May 2019
Wake-up call for debris creation in geostationary orbit
... that in some regions of LEO we already have the Kessler Syndrome (collisional cascading) and it will now require active debris removal to reverse it. At times one has to wonder at the space industry. Kessler and Cour-Palais’s paper on the “Collision...
September 2023
A multifaceted approach to space sustainability
... the commercial sector, which is starting to conduct space operations such as in-orbit servicing, in-orbit refuelling, active debris removal and other close-proximity orbital operations in the absence of widely shared rules of behaviour in orbit. The...
October 2024
International space law - the beginning of the end?
... spacefaring States, and which is expected to pose constraints on the freedom of use of outer space by all States. If no Active Debris Removal (ADR) efforts are undertaken, it is believed that even if no new space objects are launched, the most used...
24 June 2022
UK to lead review of space legislation and financial support for debris removal
... satellites and space missions,” he stated. The announcement included confirmation of a £5 million UK investment in active debris removal (de-orbiting unprepared defunct satellites) and in-orbit servicing. “This investment, achieved through...
May 2026
Focusing the world on planetary defence
...Space Centre (University of Surrey) and partially funded by the European Commission, has successfully demonstrated active debris removal and PERSEI Space in Spain is developing electrodynamic tethers for autonomous satellite deorbiting. Proposals for...
September 2026
Who taxes space? - new challenges for the space economy
... ‘Pigouvian’ taxes to hybrid systems combining launch levies with refundable credits for end-of-life disposal or active debris removal. One influential study estimates that a globally coordinated orbital-use fee could quadruple the net present ...
