Considering that the cheaper "used" launch cost will lower the bar for getting satellites to LEO, I wonder how long until we need to worry about Kessler Syndrome[1].
I did my undergraduate capstone class on the Kessler Syndrome. UNCOPUOS, the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space dictate that a satellite must deorbit itself within 25 years after mission completion.
The Kessler Syndrome right now is a potentially exponential problem that we should be conscientious of because our access to space depends on open orbital lanes.
I want to submit a YC application proposing an orbital debris mitigation as a service company but im not sure if it's an idea YC will facilitate
The science behind the movie Gravity wasn't too accurate but the scenario the characters found themselves in is very very plausible.
I can't wait for junkyard micro-satellites equipped with an ion thruster. They are launched in the hundreds at a time, each locates their specific target, attaches and start a slow descend to burn in the atmosphere. This process is done automatically over a time-frame of months, since ion thrusters work slowly, which is great for automation.
The Kessler Syndrome right now is a potentially exponential problem that we should be conscientious of because our access to space depends on open orbital lanes.
I want to submit a YC application proposing an orbital debris mitigation as a service company but im not sure if it's an idea YC will facilitate
The science behind the movie Gravity wasn't too accurate but the scenario the characters found themselves in is very very plausible.