Space Debris: A Great Leap Forward We Won't Take

What could happen if we eventually lost our window to space? Spacefaring nations have allowed themselves to jeopardize the access to space by creating more junk than they can mitigate, and that door is now shrinking. The best chance to reverse the situation is for states to allow private companies to do the cleaning. However, space activities have been deeply institutionalized since their cradle, the Cold War. As private budgets outgrow those from governments around the world, states have little chance but to cede their almost exclusive rights to use outer space in order to avoid a catastrophe. Mitigating space debris is a great, risky, and expensive leap forward not many actors want to take. In the space community, we know that time is our worst enemy, and time is really running out for action. In the case of debris, the question, on whether yes or no they will take action promptly enough has remained always a step ahead. This book aims to enlighten the general public and the end consumers of space technology over the debris issue, so that states may represent their will effectively and sustainably.