[erybodyknows]

Interesting problem space and solution. Question, is there any value in the raw materials contained in the debris? Would it be feasible to aggregate/collect a certain, let’s say, “value threshold” of debris that makes it economically reasonable to return a bulk payload back to earth? Even if the answer is currently “no”, it seems like harvesting essentially free materials and suspending them en masse in a controlled orbit makes a lot of sense. Eventually groups will want to fabricate in space, and you could have the raw materials ready to provide.

[kartikkumar]

This is quite a popular idea but there's a lot of challenging economics that haven't been figured out yet.

CisLunar Industries [1] for example wants to harvest and process metal from debris on orbit.

Their initial application is to create metal fuel rods for thruster technology being developed by Neumann Space [2].

[1] https://www.cislunarindustries.com

[2] https://neumannspace.com