New Solutions for the Space Debris Problem by Joseph N. Pelton

Author:Joseph N. Pelton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Springer International Publishing, Cham

The problem with attempts to create commercial, economic or regulatory solutions to problems involving outer space, or for that matter any area involving the rapid development of technology, is the mistaken assumption that the status quo will continue. The allocation of frequencies by the International Telecommunication Union, and even the naming of spectral bands, has never adequately anticipated the advance of new technologies. Today’s Extremely High Frequency (EHF) bands range from 30,000,000,000 Hz to 300,000,000,000 Hz versus what was once thought to be the top of the frequency allocations heap and given the today’s inapt name, the Ultra High Frequency (UHF) band. The UHF band at 300,000,000 Hz to 3,000,000,000 Hz covers a range of frequencies that are 100 times lower than the EHF band or 10 times lower than the so-called Super High Frequencies. In most English lexicons, the progression would most likely be “extremely”, “super” and “ultra”, rather than the reverse. Time and time again regulations such as speed limits, standards for pollution or safety, and so on, have been outstripped by new technology and conditions created by not anticipating the consequences of an innovation.

It is certainly hoped that technology related to space safety, orbital debris removal, planetary defense against asteroids and extreme solar weather, and so on, will make major gains in coming decades. Thus any attempt to define the solution in terms of a particular technology, or even the use of rocket technology, will likely be self-defeating. In future years the use of “electro-dynamic propulsion” or perhaps even the development of a space elevator or tether technology may provide a much more efficient and cost-effective way to address the problem of space debris and deployment of vital space infrastructure (Fig. 4.2).

Fig. 4.2Artist conception of a space elevator (Graphic Courtesy of NASA)

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