Planet Earth ‘congestion charge’ could fix space junk problem, study claims



There’s a growing problem in orbit around Earth (Credits: Getty Images/iStockphoto) A congestion charge-style fee to launch satellites will curb the growing problem of space junk, suggests a new study.

Researchers concluded that companies should pay an annual fee of around US $235,000 per satellite or £193,000 which is around the cost of an average home in the UK.

More than 500,000 pieces of debris – or ‘space junk’ – is currently orbiting the Earth. They all travel at speeds up to 17,500 mph, fast enough for even a paint fleck to break a space shuttle window.

Economist Matthew Burgess has suggested orbital use fees as part of an international agreement in order to incentivise companies to think seriously about crowding Earth’s orbit.

He said by reducing future satellite and debris collision risk, as well as the annual fee, it could quadruple the value of the satellite industry.

Satellites like this don’t stay operational all the time – eventually they stop working or break down (Credits: Getty Images/iStockphoto) Assistant Professor Burgess said: ‘Space is a common resource, but companies aren’t accounting for the cost their satellites impose on other operators when they decide whether or not to launch.

‘We need a policy that lets satellite operators directly factor in the costs their launches impose on other operators.’

Currently, an estimated 20,000 objects–including satellites and space debris–are crowding low-Earth orbit.

New satellites are constantly being launched into orbit (Credits: AP) Each operator launches more and more satellites until their private collision risk equals the value of the orbiting satellite.

Akhil Rao, assistant professor of economics at Middlebury college, said technological fixes that include removing space debris from orbit with nets, harpoons or lasers will not solve the problem.

He said: ‘Launch fees by themselves can’t induce operators to deorbit their satellites when necessary, and it’s not the launch but the orbiting satellite that causes the damage.’

The economists say orbital-use fees could be orbit-specific, as satellites in different orbits produce varying collision risk.

The fee for each satellite would also be calculated to reflect the cost to the industry of putting another satellite into orbit, including projected current and future costs of additional collision risk and space debris production–costs operators don’t currently factor into their launches.

A congestion charge may help stop the spread of space junk (Getty) Daniel Kaffine, professor of economics and RASEI Fellow at the University of Colorado Boulder, said: ‘In our model, what matters is that satellite operators are paying the cost of the collision risk imposed on other operators.’

The researchers said the dozen countries launching satellites would need to participate, as well as...

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