So far , government have prefer to take with the trouble of place junk by follow through policies to reduce the existence of more junk . But that alone wo n’t cut it — we also need to be remove material from orbit . One way to cover the high price of space junk disposal would be a $ 1 taxation on every GPS chip in a smartphone .
“ Everybody who ’s looked at the problem comes to the same conclusion : if we do n’t start removing five to ten physical object per yr for the next 100 years , we ’ll have an unstable surround , ” say retired NASA scientist Donald Kessler at a recentconferenceon orbital debris .
Unfortunately , as Jeff Foustreportsin The Space Review , the U.S. government has n’t invested much in debris removal endeavor . And while the private sphere has been developing the technology that could get the job done , nobody seems disposed to pay for it :
[ James ] Armor , now the frailty president of ATK Spacecraft Systems and Services , allege his company had looked at debris removal as a potential program for itsViviSat satellite servicing speculation . The results were not encouraging .
“ Right now , there is no business case for detritus palliation . you may not rely stringently on commercial-grade market forces to extenuate this , ” he sound out .
Armor and others propose ways to help improve the face for active junk remotion . That includes direct funding of debris removal sweat , either through government contract or through a “ premium ” organization where the government offers to pay a laid amount to remove a specific object .
[ James Dunstan , founder ofMobius Legal Group ] , suggested a H.M.S. Bounty system could be funded by placing a $ 1 taxation on every GPS chip in a smartphone . “ Sooner or by and by it adds up to enough money that mass would really go after some of this material , ” he said .
Dunstan also recommend that the authorities fund development of junk remotion engineering , then channelise them to the private sector . He also recommended an indemnification regime for detritus removal companies that would be similar to what exists today for commercial launches , where the government commit to pay for any scathe above a sure amount that the company must insure against .
But , before any of that can happen , Dunstan and others agree that there needs to be a single authorities government agency responsible for for overseeing debris moderation and cleanup spot . “ Who the heck is choke to govern it ? ” Dunstan said . “ We want to set [ that ] . ”
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