The long-run economics of sustainable orbit use

Julien Guyot, Akhil Rao and Sébastien Rouillon

Bordeaux Economics Working Papers from Bordeaux School of Economics (BSE)

Abstract: All space-based economic growth requires use of Earth’s orbital space. But as rocket and satellite technologies become cheaper, congestion and pollution threaten to reduce terrestrial access to space-based services like GPS and remote sensing and severely limit the potential for space-based growth. We propose a unifying model and a graphical framework to represent the long-term sustainable size of the satellite fleet and its economic value as a function of the launch rate, as well as its effects on the orbital environment. We show how the framework can be used to consider long-term orbital outcomes emerging under different management institutions, derive policy instruments which maximize the economic value of orbit use, and consider the effects of different technological innovations accounting for behavioral responses to the innovations. We conclude with a discussion of open questions in orbit-use management which are both relevant to policymakers around the world and likely to generate insights into environmental management and sustainable growth.

Keywords: Space economics; Orbital debris; Sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L1 L9 Q2 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-env
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Working Paper: The long-run economics of sustainable orbit use (2022)
Working Paper: The long-run economics of sustainable orbit use (2022)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:grt:bdxewp:2022-13

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