Multiple Routes Seen to Incentivizing 25-Year De-orbiting
Mandatory collision risk insurance and independent "space sustainability" ratings are among options for incentivizing satellite operators to make sure their satellites de-orbit within 25 years of mission completion, said space debris experts Thursday in an Aerospace Corp. webinar. Rebecca Reesman,…
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Aerospace project engineer, said other possible incentives include a de-orbit credit trading regime somewhat akin to carbon credits, government-mandated regulations and industry-created norms. Dan Oltrogge, director of AGI's Center for Space Standards and Innovation, said the FCC's April orbital debris rules update and NPRM (see 2004230040) largely fits with what industry is trying to accomplish. Reesman said compliance with the international 25-year guideline is "not great," and needs to improve, especially with the expected slew of mega constellations. Oltrogge said governmental and private sector tracking of objects and debris in orbit is capturing only about 4% of things above a centimeter in size, but tracking capabilities are improving so the public catalog of tracked debris in five years will be 10 times what it is today. There also will be a tenfold increase in satellites in orbit over the next decade, he said.