Sustainability in Space

[abell21]

Do you think that the debris in the lower earth orbital will eventually become a danger to the future of space travel? Also, is there a way currently to clean space debris? Or do you think in the future there will be?

[Chris Peterson]

Do you think that the debris in the lower earth orbital will eventually become a danger to the future of space travel? Also, is there a way currently to clean space debris? Or do you think in the future there will be?

There isn't much debris is low orbit, because it has a short lifetime there. So the risk is pretty low. That could change if the active stuff in low orbit collides with other active stuff. The mess could make access to space difficult for a few decades.

There are proposed designs for satellites that clean up space junk, at least one of which has actually been tested in space.

[acap]

I think that a Sustainability Index for space should be developed and published on periodically basis to provide quantifiable data on the ground situation.