Near Orbit

Active Debris Removal (ADR) – using harpoons, nets, or magnetic tethering to de-orbit large derelict objects – is technically feasible but commercially unattractive. The European Space Agency’s ClearSpace-1 mission (planned for 2027) represents the first dedicated ADR mission. However, at an estimated cost of $150 million per large object, a public-good funding mechanism is necessary.

This paper addresses three central questions: (1) What distinguishes near orbit from other space regimes? (2) Why is NEO uniquely valuable? (3) What mechanisms threaten its long-term utility?

The 1967 Outer Space Treaty is insufficient. Four specific reforms are needed: near orbit

Near Earth orbit is no longer a vast, empty frontier. It is a crowded, industrial zone of immense economic and strategic value, housing the critical infrastructure of modern civilization. The era of “launch and forget” is over. Without aggressive action on debris remediation and binding international traffic rules, the scientific and commercial benefits of NEO could be lost to a self-sustaining cascade of collisions. The next decade will determine whether near orbit becomes humanity’s enduring bridge to the cosmos or a cautionary monument to our failure to manage the commons.

Near orbit is a critical region of space that plays a vital role in many aspects of our daily lives. As the use of near orbit continues to grow, it is essential to address the challenges and opportunities associated with this region, ensuring that it is used in a sustainable and responsible way. Active Debris Removal (ADR) – using harpoons, nets,

The “near orbit” is distinct from Medium Earth Orbit (MEO, 2,000–35,786 km) and Geostationary Orbit (GEO, 35,786 km). Its defining characteristics include:

NASA estimates there are over 500,000 pieces of debris between 1–10 cm in NEO, and 100 million particles smaller than 1 cm. Traveling at ~7.8 km/s, a 1 cm fragment carries the kinetic energy of a hand grenade. The 2009 Iridium-Cosmos collision and the 2021 Russian ASAT test each generated tens of thousands of new trackable fragments. In a worst-case cascade (Kessler Syndrome), debris collisions would generate more debris, rendering entire orbital bands unusable for decades. This paper addresses three central questions: (1) What

As megaconstellations age and are de-orbited, hundreds of satellites will re-enter the atmosphere annually. While most burn up, a 2023 study found a 10% annual probability of a surviving 25+ kg fragment landing in a populated area. Furthermore, the injection of aluminum oxides from burning satellites could catalyze stratospheric ozone depletion – a poorly understood externality.

For the first six decades of the Space Age (1957–2017), near Earth orbit served primarily as a proving ground. Satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) – the densest band of NEO – were short-lived, few in number, and easily tracked. However, the last decade has witnessed a paradigm shift. The launch of reusable rockets and the commercialization of satellite bus technology have reduced launch costs by an order of magnitude, enabling the deployment of megaconstellations (e.g., Starlink, OneWeb, and future Project Kuiper). As of 2026, over 8,000 active satellites occupy NEO, a number projected to exceed 50,000 by 2030.