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Scientists have proposed a refundable deposit scheme requiring satellite operators to pay $200,000 before launch and reclaim the money with interest after safely removing their spacecraft from orbit, in an effort to curb the growing problem of space debris.
The proposal aims to discourage companies from abandoning defunct satellites in orbit and help fund debris-removal missions, as the increasing number of spacecraft raises concerns about collisions and the long-term sustainability of space activities.
The researchers warned that uncontrolled collisions could trigger a chain reaction known as the Kessler Syndrome, in which fragments from crashing satellites generate more debris and cause further collisions, potentially making parts of Earth’s orbit unsafe or unusable.
The phenomenon was predicted in the 1970s by NASA physicist Donald Kessler.
The concern is growing as companies including SpaceX, Blue Origin and Amazon plan to deploy large satellite constellations for telecommunications and other services, while proposals for space-based data centres could further increase orbital traffic.
“Low Earth orbit looks like lots of other resources that we have trashed as economic actors,” Daniel Kaffine, a professor of environmental and resource economics at the University of Colorado Boulder, told Space.com.
Kaffine and his colleagues outlined the deposit proposal in a paper published last month in the journal Nature Communications.
Under the proposed system, operators would receive their deposits, plus interest, after successfully deorbiting their satellites at the end of their missions. Companies that failed to comply would forfeit the money, which could be pooled to finance active debris-removal operations.
Kaffine said the scheme could potentially raise billions of dollars and would not necessarily require international coordination.
Existing guidelines call for satellite operators to remove spacecraft from orbit within 25 years after their missions end. The US Federal Communications Commission has imposed a stricter five-year limit for satellites in low Earth orbit.
However, the researchers said around 60 per cent of satellites remain in orbit after running out of propellant, partly because operators face limited consequences for failing to remove them.
Enforcing international rules remains difficult because international bodies lack direct powers to ensure compliance. New regulations under the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space also face significant hurdles because decisions require unanimous support from member states.
Indigo Brownhall, a space sustainability researcher at University College London and lead author of the study, said the proposed policy could instead be introduced at the national level.
She told Space.com that European countries, for example, could require satellites registered under their jurisdictions to comply with the deposit scheme.
The researchers argue that financial incentives could encourage responsible satellite disposal before orbital debris reaches a critical threshold, while generating funding for the removal of existing space junk.
