Telecommunications and Space Debris: Adaptive Regulation Beyond Earth

Omer F. Keles

Telecommunications Policy, 2023, vol. 47, issue 3

Abstract: The existing policy frameworks surrounding the launch of man-made objects and expeditions into space are largely unequipped to deal with the long-term consequences of debris accumulation beyond the Earth's atmosphere. This has serious implications for all telecommunications satellites. As space-faring actors (who are increasingly from the private sector, in addition to government-affiliated) become more involved with these activities, fragmentation from a variety of sources (colloquially grouped as space debris) will only continue to proliferate before outright impeding the ability of humans to conduct operations in space altogether. This paper proposes, as a solution, the implementation of adaptive governance structures with regards to the issue of space debris. This solution takes place in the form of collaborative/flexible endeavors between the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), International Telecommunication Union (ITU), private sector spaceflight corporations, and governmental space agencies to mitigate space debris pileup. Through the usage of new technologies to spearhead space debris cleanup, non-partisan economic incentives, and clarification on acceptable environmental conditions for satellite launches, an adaptive governance model for handling space debris is key to making space safe for communication and research.

Keywords: Space debris; Space policy; Adaptive governance; Debris mitigation; UNOOSA; ITU (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308596123000289
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:telpol:v:47:y:2023:i:3:s0308596123000289

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/30471/bibliographic
http://www.elsevier. ... /30471/bibliographic

DOI: 10.1016/j.telpol.2023.102517

Access Statistics for this article

Telecommunications Policy is currently edited by Erik Bohlin

More articles in Telecommunications Policy from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().