Posted By: W. Steve Wilson
Posted: May 10, 2021
For some, it was an anxious weekend. We just didn’t know where that Chinese rocket was going to end up. I was hoping maybe a small piece of debris might land in my backyard and provide a cool garden statue. That didn’t happen, and our worst fears were for naught—no one was injured, and it ended up in the ocean.
That got me wondering—just how much of that stuff is up there. Various space experts did interviews and talked about all the thousands and thousands of pieces of junk that are orbiting the Earth. For the most part, they don’t cause harm—space is a big place. But they’ve moved the International Space Station to avoid a collision. The latest Crew Dragon launch took some precautions, and rocket launches have been re-scheduled (India’s launch). But it’s getting worse—orbits are becoming filled with working satellites, non-working satellites, spent boosters, trash ejected from the ISS, and junk from sixty years of space exploration. (ESA Summary)
Much was said over the weekend about who’s responsible, how we can address the problem, how we need treaties, etc. But what about the economic opportunity? As late as March of this year, it was reported that there might be as many as 129 million pieces of junk, 34,000 larger than 10cm (about 4 inches). That’s 9,200 tons of debris whizzing around the Earth in various orbits and of a myriad of materials. (IET Article)
Let’s for a moment assume we could launch that mass at close to what SpaceX is running per kilogram to the ISS, ~$2,500/kilogram. At that rate, it would cost approximately $21 billion to launch that much material. Even at the declining costs of launches, it could be $15 billion.
Imagine if you could capture all that junk and remanufacture it into useful materials or products. What if you could build something in space from the trash? To quote Scotty from The Voyage Home – “So, is that worth something to ye, laddie? Or should I just punch up ‘clear’?”
And people are working on it. To quote from the IET Article: Speaking ahead of the launch, UK Science Minister Amanda Solloway said: “The removal of hazardous space debris is not only environmentally important but is also a huge commercial opportunity for the UK, with companies like Astroscale leading the way in demonstrating how we can make space safer for everyone.”
So that might just be the next big commercial opportunity in space. Should we focus on capturing the junk for recycling? Or just clean up the garbage? Who owns all that junk, and would salvage rules apply if someone could find a way to use it? Or is there money to be made by being paid to clean it up—like a landfill that needs to be reclaimed?
Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Thanks for stopping by.
Won’t a lot of the junk burn up before it reaches earth?
Absolutely. There are some larger pieces up there, but hard to tell yet where and when they might come to earth. There are even spent rocket bodies at least from as far back as the ’90s, maybe even older. The real danger is collisions with active assets like satellites and the ISS. Thanks for the comment.
How much junk was left on the moon and why couldn’t they collect it and stock pile it there
That is an excellent idea. It’s already there – go collect it.
I’m sure there will be a movement to preserve the history. But something to think about.