Will Parker

Well, our study went to 2100 and we saw that relative to the year 2000, we're seeing in the worst case scenario, at least a reduction of 50% in our carrying capacity, the number of satellites that we can sustain. It depends, right? The point of the study is to be able to show that we have a lot of levers at our control to be able to manage the space debris problem.

is to more effectively manage our access to space and make sure that internationally we have rules of how we operate spacecraft and how we manage our use of space. The other that is maybe unintuitive is that you don't need to be an aerospace engineer to make a difference in reducing the space debris problem.

is to more effectively manage our access to space and make sure that internationally we have rules of how we operate spacecraft and how we manage our use of space. The other that is maybe unintuitive is that you don't need to be an aerospace engineer to make a difference in reducing the space debris problem.

Everybody can sort of do their part to try to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions and every country should We're trying to do that for lots of reasons, right? We don't need more reasons to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, but it turns out that reducing those emissions not only helps us on Earth, it also helps to enable the long-term sustainability of space, which was a cool outcome.

Everybody can sort of do their part to try to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions and every country should We're trying to do that for lots of reasons, right? We don't need more reasons to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, but it turns out that reducing those emissions not only helps us on Earth, it also helps to enable the long-term sustainability of space, which was a cool outcome.

Yeah, so what we found is in the lower part of the atmosphere, we can fit a lot of satellites if we're trying to avoid this long-term debris accumulation that we're looking at. Because as long as you stay in the part of the atmosphere that is very thick, then any time you have some sort of debris generating event, it'll be removed from orbit very quickly.

Yeah, so what we found is in the lower part of the atmosphere, we can fit a lot of satellites if we're trying to avoid this long-term debris accumulation that we're looking at. Because as long as you stay in the part of the atmosphere that is very thick, then any time you have some sort of debris generating event, it'll be removed from orbit very quickly.

And so what we recommended in the paper is if you want to make sure that you are not doing long-term damage to the environment, it's really important that satellite operators reduce the altitudes that they operate at. So if you fly at a lower altitude, it ends up being a little bit safer for the overall environment.

And so what we recommended in the paper is if you want to make sure that you are not doing long-term damage to the environment, it's really important that satellite operators reduce the altitudes that they operate at. So if you fly at a lower altitude, it ends up being a little bit safer for the overall environment.

And it's something that I think we're going to start to have to do more and more as time goes on.

And it's something that I think we're going to start to have to do more and more as time goes on.

So for really large pieces of space junk, so I'm talking large satellites that are abandoned or we have upper stage rocket bodies that are floating around in space. For those things, there have been several companies and governments that have been working on what they call active debris removal strategies.

So for really large pieces of space junk, so I'm talking large satellites that are abandoned or we have upper stage rocket bodies that are floating around in space. For those things, there have been several companies and governments that have been working on what they call active debris removal strategies.

So that means that we take basically independent satellites, we launch them to space specifically to remove these large objects. Basically, it's a one-to-one. We send up a satellite to remove a satellite. That's incredibly expensive. It's something that we need to do, but it is not a scalable problem. We have hundreds of millions of objects when you get down to the really small scales.

So that means that we take basically independent satellites, we launch them to space specifically to remove these large objects. Basically, it's a one-to-one. We send up a satellite to remove a satellite. That's incredibly expensive. It's something that we need to do, but it is not a scalable problem. We have hundreds of millions of objects when you get down to the really small scales.

We have no way to remove those objects. We can remove maybe five or 10 objects a year using this active debris removal, but that will never, ever scale to the problem. I liken it to direct air capture for removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. The direct air capture is useful for sort of trying to clean up the mess that we've already made.

We have no way to remove those objects. We can remove maybe five or 10 objects a year using this active debris removal, but that will never, ever scale to the problem. I liken it to direct air capture for removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. The direct air capture is useful for sort of trying to clean up the mess that we've already made.

But it's always a lot cheaper to not make a mess in the first place than it is to clean up a mess that has already been made. So that's what we're advocating for. I think that the active debris removal will be a useful component to trying to ensure this long-term sustainability. But really, the atmosphere is all we rely on to do 99.9% of the cleanup.

But it's always a lot cheaper to not make a mess in the first place than it is to clean up a mess that has already been made. So that's what we're advocating for. I think that the active debris removal will be a useful component to trying to ensure this long-term sustainability. But really, the atmosphere is all we rely on to do 99.9% of the cleanup.

Well, we've seen recently, certainly in the news, lots of instances of space debris that makes its way all the way to the ground and maybe poses a hazard to people on the surface. That is certainly a concern, and it's something that I think will constrain our space activity. It's important to, one, be able to understand what will these satellites do as they're burning up in the atmosphere.