Could Taking Down Zombie Satellites Be as Lucrative as Launching Them?
A computer simulation of the distribution and movement of space debris at present and in future. TU Braunschweig/AP File Photo
By
Tim Fernholz
The $100 billion worth of satellites orbiting earth are in more danger than ever from space junk.
The European Space Agency’s conference on space junk, which just wrapped up in Germany, brought news both bad and good for the space industry.
The bad news: The $100 billion worth of satellites orbiting earth are in more danger than ever from space junk. The good news: There could be a business in cleaning up orbit paths for a fee.
At present, only 7% of the objects in earth’s orbit monitored by earth’s space agencies are functioning satellites. The remaining 93% of them—broken satellites, space rocks and satellite parts—represent a threat to working spacecraft. And even relatively small pieces of debris can damage satellites when they are moving at 15,000 mph.