It has become increasingly clear in recent years that the issue of space debris, particularly in low-Earth orbit, can no longer be ignored or simply mitigated. Orbital debris currently threatens safe spaceflight for both satellites and humans aboard the International Space Station. Additionally, orbital debris might impact Earth upon reentry, endangering human lives and damaging the environment with toxic materials. In sum, orbital debris seriously jeopardizes the future not only of human presence in space, but also of human safety on Earth. While international efforts to mitigate the current situation and limit the creation of new debris are useful, recent studies predicting debris evolution have indicated that these will not be enough to ensure humanity's access to and use of the near-Earth environment in the long-term. Rather, active debris removal (ADR) must be pursued if we are to continue benefiting from and conducting space activities. While the concept of ADR is not new, it has not yet been implemented. This is not just because of the technical feasibility of such a scheme, but also because of the host of economic, legal/regulatory, and political issues associated with debris remediation. The costs of ADR are not insignificant and, in today's restrictive fiscal climate, are unlikely/ to be covered by any single actor. Similarly, ADR concepts bring up many unresolved questions about liability, the protection of proprietary information, safety, and standards. In addition, because of the dual use nature of ADR technologies, any venture will necessarily require political considerations. Despite the many unanswered questions surrounding ADR, it is an endeavor worth pursuing if we are to continue relying on space activities for a variety of critical daily needs and services. Moreover, we can’t ignore the environmental implications that an unsustainable use of space will imply for life on Earth in the long run. This paper aims to explore some of these challenges and propose an economically, politically, and legally viable ADR option. Much like waste management on Earth, cleaning up space junk will likely lie somewhere between a public good and a private sector service. An international, cooperative, public-private partnership concept can address many of these issues and be economically sustainable, while also driving the creation of a proper set of regulations, standards and best practices.

1. CONCEPTUALIZING AN
ECONOMICALLY, LEGALLY
AND POLITICALLY VIABLE
ACTIVE DEBRIS REMOVAL
OPTION
IN SUPPORT OF THE UNITED NATIONS
PROGRAMME ON SPACE APPLICATIONS
IAC-13-A6.8.1
Matteo Emanuelli | Tiffany Chow | Deva Prasad | Giulia Federico | Joshua Loughman
Space Safety and Sustainability Project Group

2. CONCEPTUALIZING AN ECONOMICALLY, LEGALLY AND POLITICALLY VIABLE ACTIVE DEBRIS REMOVAL OPTION
• INTRODUCTION
• ASSESSMENT
• CONCLUSION
• Background
• Policy and Legal Challenges
• Economic Challenges
• Scorecard Method
• Case Study
• Conclusion & Next Steps
5/15/2014
IN SUPPORT OF THE UNITED NATIONS PROGRAMME ON SPACE APPLICATIONS 2
Summary

3. INTRODUCTION

4. CONCEPTUALIZING AN ECONOMICALLY, LEGALLY AND POLITICALLY VIABLE ACTIVE DEBRIS REMOVAL OPTION
• UN Space Debris Mitigation
Guidelines (2007)
• Kessler Syndrome in LEO
• Necessity of ADR has been
highlighted by many studies*
• At least 5 large objects
deorbited per year
*Liou (2010)
BACKGROUND
5/15/2014
4IN SUPPORT OF THE UNITED NATIONS PROGRAMME ON SPACE APPLICATIONS
Operational
satellites
6%
Decommissio
ned
satellites, spe
nt upper
stages and
mission-
related
objects
Debris
originated
from more
than 200 in-
orbit
fragmentation
ssince 1961
56%
CATALOGUED ORBITAL POPULATION
(US SSN)
Source: ESA

5. CONCEPTUALIZING AN ECONOMICALLY, LEGALLY AND POLITICALLY VIABLE ACTIVE DEBRIS REMOVAL OPTION
Ideally, passive (mitigation) and active (removal) means should
be combined to face debris situation
However:
• complicated Liability and Licensing
• lack of Definition for space debris
Current International space law framework:
• Space debris not even mentioned in Article IX Outer Space
Treaty (1967)
• Liability Convention (1972) does not impose legal provision
to impose obligation on undertaking mitigation or removal
actions
• Liability can be mitigated by negotiations and
compensations but not doable in commercial framework
• ITAR and others export control regulations
POLICY AND LEGAL CHALLENGES
5/15/2014
5IN SUPPORT OF THE UNITED NATIONS PROGRAMME ON SPACE APPLICATIONS

6. CONCEPTUALIZING AN ECONOMICALLY, LEGALLY AND POLITICALLY VIABLE ACTIVE DEBRIS REMOVAL OPTION
Proposed actions to foster ADR:
• Agree on a shared definition of space debris
• Definition of a pro-active legal regime to foster
public private partnership
• Develop more accurate monitoring capabilities
• Establish an independent organization to track,
store and share data about orbital debris
• Develop SSA traffic management system
POLICY AND LEGAL CHALLENGES
5/15/2014
6IN SUPPORT OF THE UNITED NATIONS PROGRAMME ON SPACE APPLICATIONS

7. CONCEPTUALIZING AN ECONOMICALLY, LEGALLY AND POLITICALLY VIABLE ACTIVE DEBRIS REMOVAL OPTION
ECONOMIC CHALLENGES
5/15/2014
7IN SUPPORT OF THE UNITED NATIONS PROGRAMME ON SPACE APPLICATIONS
ADR
Cost Value
Partially addressed by policy
approaches (International tax,
license on launch operations,
removal fee, etc.). Need to
identify risk, stakeholders and
time horizon.
If Cost < Value and Cost < Cost of alternatives, then the activity
should be pursued and the stakeholders would procure the service.
“Build it first” demonstrator would
set baseline mission cost and
create base for appropriate
framework.

8. CONCEPTUALIZING AN ECONOMICALLY, LEGALLY AND POLITICALLY VIABLE ACTIVE DEBRIS REMOVAL OPTION
National space agencies would cover development costs
and by doing so, establishing procedures, pushing
creation of appropriate policies that can be applied by
economic forces. (e.g. Telecommunications satellites,
launchers, space station)
Assuming a legal and policy framework for ADR,
commercial objectives are:
• Clearly identified value proposition for clearly defined
stakeholders
• Modelling of risk to multiple assets over a time horizon
• Identification of alternatives and trade study of those
options
ECONOMIC CHALLENGES
5/15/2014
8IN SUPPORT OF THE UNITED NATIONS PROGRAMME ON SPACE APPLICATIONS

9. ASSESSMENT

10. CONCEPTUALIZING AN ECONOMICALLY, LEGALLY AND POLITICALLY VIABLE ACTIVE DEBRIS REMOVAL OPTION
Objective and multidisciplinary method to assess
ADR projects to identify potential successful
candidates but also to suggest preferred solutions
• Different criteria
• Select measures and weights
SCORECARD METHOD
5/15/2014
10IN SUPPORT OF THE UNITED NATIONS PROGRAMME ON SPACE APPLICATIONS

11. CONCEPTUALIZING AN ECONOMICALLY, LEGALLY AND POLITICALLY VIABLE ACTIVE DEBRIS REMOVAL OPTION
• Policy, Legal, Technical and Economic Framework
• The method does not aim to provide a
comprehensive description of viable ADR projects
but to provide a simple and easy-to-use indicator
to determine the overall value of the ADR projects
analysed
SCORECARD METHOD
5/15/2014
11IN SUPPORT OF THE UNITED NATIONS PROGRAMME ON SPACE APPLICATIONS

12. CONCEPTUALIZING AN ECONOMICALLY, LEGALLY AND POLITICALLY VIABLE ACTIVE DEBRIS REMOVAL OPTION
• Policy and Legal Framework
• Nationality
• Strategy
• Type of Cooperation
• Legal Framework
• Possibility of Anti-Satellite Weapon Applicability
• Technical Framework
• Technology Readiness Level (TRL)
• Economic Framework
• Definition of Business
• Estimated Cost per Mission (ECM)
• Estimate Cost per kg Deorbited (ECD)
SCORECARD METHOD
5/15/2014
12IN SUPPORT OF THE UNITED NATIONS PROGRAMME ON SPACE APPLICATIONS

13. CONCEPTUALIZING AN ECONOMICALLY, LEGALLY AND POLITICALLY VIABLE ACTIVE DEBRIS REMOVAL OPTION
• CleanSpaceOne
• Swiss Space
Center project
• Target: Swiss
nanosatellite
• Technology still in
development
• ADR demonstrator
mission in 2018
• ~ €12 million
CASE STUDY
5/15/2014
13IN SUPPORT OF THE UNITED NATIONS PROGRAMME ON SPACE APPLICATIONS
Source: EPFL

14. CONCEPTUALIZING AN ECONOMICALLY, LEGALLY AND POLITICALLY VIABLE ACTIVE DEBRIS REMOVAL OPTION
• Swiss Space Center is supported by national Ministry
of Education but not included in the decision making
process of the country
• Scorecard result: poor (7 out of 36 points available)
However:
Swiss Foreign-Policy Strategy 2012-2015 is based on the
following fundamental principle, i.e. rule of law,
universality, neutrality, solidarity and responsibility and
stability implemented by way of international cooperation
Although Switzerland is not a spacefaring country, it looks
like it could be a suitable country to start active debris
removal initiatives, which deal with security and
complicated legal issues
CASE STUDY
5/15/2014
14IN SUPPORT OF THE UNITED NATIONS PROGRAMME ON SPACE APPLICATIONS

15. CONCLUSION

16. CONCEPTUALIZING AN ECONOMICALLY, LEGALLY AND POLITICALLY VIABLE ACTIVE DEBRIS REMOVAL OPTION
• Started exploring an economically, politically, and
legally viable way forward for ADR concepts
• Proposed method of evaluation based on a
scorecard applied then to a case study
• Detailed analysis of the economic factors to justify
ADR missions
• Expansion of scorecard and new case studies will
be considered.
CONCLUSION AND NEXT STEPS
5/15/2014
16IN SUPPORT OF THE UNITED NATIONS PROGRAMME ON SPACE APPLICATIONS

17. THANK YOU!
5/15/2014
17