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If you want to go into orbit, you have to pay

27.5.2020

Translation: machine translated

More and more rubbish is accumulating around the earth. Getting rid of it is difficult. Researchers are therefore now proposing to make companies pay for using the orbit.

Earth's orbit is becoming increasingly crowded. Not only are there numerous functional satellites in orbit, but also more and more decommissioned technology and debris. Scientists estimate that there are currently around 20,000 objects orbiting our home planet - all of which run the risk of colliding with each other sooner or later.

The question of how best to remove excess debris from orbit has therefore been discussed among aerospace engineers for some time. Some have argued in favour of using harpoons, nets or grappling arms to get at space debris. Others even wanted to catapult it out of the way with a laser cannon installed on the ISS. However, most of the suggestions have one thing in common: not much has happened in this direction so far.

Researchers led by Matthew Burgess from the University of Colorado in Boulder are therefore now proposing a completely different method that does not require a lot of technology: instead of thinking about removing space debris on a large scale, it would be more effective in the long term to reduce the number of satellites through a kind of "orbital usage fee", the authors write in the specialist journal "PNAS". The idea behind the levy is simple: every additional satellite that is placed in orbit increases the risk - and therefore the costs in the long term - for the operators of those satellites that are already there. The new user fee is intended to reflect this risk, as most operators would hardly include it in their calculations.

A clean orbit costs - a little more every year

The orbital utilisation fee could be a kind of direct tax - or tradable permits, the researchers explain. It is also conceivable to adjust it depending on the altitude of the orbit, as there are also different collision risks at different altitudes. It is important to differentiate the utilisation fee from a launch fee, as this would not motivate operators to remove unused or obsolete technology from orbit on their own initiative. In addition, the fee should increase regularly. In their model, the researchers propose an increase of 14 per cent per year. In 2040, the use of a satellite could then cost around 235,000 US dollars per year.

Under these conditions, the fees are a more effective way than free access to space or technical approaches to getting rid of space junk, according to the results of the study. This is because they force operators to weigh up the expected benefits of their satellites against the costs that each new satellite generates for the space industry as a whole. The nice side effect of this is that the fee would increase the value of the industry as a whole, as the costs that currently arise from collisions would fall.

Of course, the idea of an orbital user fee can only work if all countries participate and charge the same amount. According to the authors, around a dozen countries are currently launching satellites and more than 30 own satellites.

Spectrum of Science

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If you want to go into orbit, you have to pay

A clean orbit costs - a little more every year

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