Image: European Space Agency
What’s new: Increased concern about space becoming so filled with debris that it is no longer possible to safely use it, or even transit through low earth orbit. We would be trapped on Earth.
Why it’s important:
- Space and satellites are incredibly important and useful, especially to high tech societies and the West
- The West’s adversaries have space capabilities, but they do not rely on them as much.
- Denial of space would be a huge blow to scientific and technological progress. It would also force a rapid, expensive, and disruptive re-tooling of many systems.
What else to know:
- Space suffers from the “tragedy of the commons.” Everybody wants to use it, no one is in charge, it gets despoiled. Everyone acts in their own self interest, and eventually everyone suffers. The oceans and cyberspace are good examples.
- This article and one we posted a while back assert the Kessler Syndrome has already begun.
- Tomorrow we are going to post a piece about how the space junk threat can be lessened.
